It's Always Worth The Sacrifice
by MaygenLynn
Summary: Tori and Gabe survived the Prisoner of Azkaban. What are they going to do now that Hogwarts is hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament? Drama, action, and maybe a little romance? Part II of the Tori and Gabe series. Set in GoF.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hey guys! Here's the Goblet of Fire beginning! I'm really excited to start this one. For those of you who are just starting out, you should probably go to my page, and read My Thoughts You Can't Decode, that's set during the Prisoner of Azkaban before you read this one.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I only own my original characters. I also don't own the lyrics to "Play On". They belong to the gorgeous Carrie Underwood. Go give it a listen if you haven't heard it.

**Outfits for Tori & Gabe: **.com/iawts1/set?id=45337367 **Just paste the link into your browser.**

**ooOOoo**

What you're gonna do when the show is over  
>What you're gonna sing when the song is eeire<br>How you're gonna cope when there is no closure  
>Where you're gonna reach when the goal gets higher<br>How you're gonna make it through  
>When you think you lost your chance<p>

Play on when you're losing the game  
>Play on 'cause you're gonna make mistakes<br>It's always worth the sacrifice  
>Even when you think you're wrong<br>So play on

Even when the floodgates swing right open  
>Never let the current take you down, no<br>Even when you're not sure where you're going  
>Swimming through a mess and you can't get out<br>Just going through the motions  
>Trying not to drown<p>

Play on when you're losing the game  
>Play on 'cause you're gonna make mistakes<br>It's always worth the sacrifice  
>Even when you think you're wrong<br>So play on

Even through a storm on the darkest night  
>Don't you ever give up the fight<br>Even when you feel you're all alone

Play on, play on

Play on when you're losing the game  
>Play on 'cause you're gonna make mistakes<br>It's always worth the sacrifice  
>Even when you think you're wrong<br>So play on

"Play On" – **Carrie Underwood**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

"Tori, darling you need to wake up," I heard a gentle voice tell me softly.

"Mmph, what?" I asked.

"You need to get up so you can go to the Weasley's today," the voice said.

"The Weasley's? What… Oh my god! It's today!" I yelled, sitting up quickly, looking up at Uncle Remus. I got out of bed and ran into Gabe's room. I heard Uncle Remus chuckling from behind me. I busted open the door and jumped on Gabe's bed. He was quickly roused out of his sleep and looked up at me like I was crazy.

"What is your problem?" he shouted.

"It's today! Get up!" I shouted, and he groaned. I ran back to my room, and got dressed in a dark tank top, a pair of jeans, and my pink trainers. I threw on some eyeliner, and eye shadow, and ran a brush through my hair. I was quickly finished getting ready and I pounded my fist on Gabe's door. "Hurry up!" I shouted, and I heard him grunt a reply from inside. I don't know what his deal is. He was excited yesterday.

I walked down to the kitchen, where Uncle Remus was making breakfast for us.

"It's unusual that you're the one who has to wake up your brother. Usually it's the other way around," he said, when he turned around and saw me sitting at the table.

"I know. I'm just excited," I said, smiling.

"I know you are."

I smiled as Gabe sluggishly came downstairs in a black shirt, jeans, and his black trainers. He glared at me, and sat at the table. Uncle Remus sat our breakfast of pancakes in front of us and we immediately started eating.

"These are good Uncle Remus," Gabe said, through a mouthful of his food. I made a disgusted face at him, which he laughed at.

"Thank you," Uncle Remus said, beginning to eat as well.

Soon enough, we were finished eating, and I grabbed my pink jacket off of the hook, while Gabe grabbed his black one. It wasn't cold outside. It was actually pretty warm, but it would get cold at night when the Quidditch game started.

"Have fun you two, and behave Victoria," Uncle Remus said.

"Always do," I called, as we began to walk down the street. The Weasley's didn't live too far from where we lived, so it only took about five minutes to walk there. Gabe and I didn't bother to knock when we got there, we never really did. We were at the Weasley's a lot during the summer, and we even went there during Christmas sometimes. I can't even tell you how many famous, comfortable, hand-knit, Weasley sweaters I've accumulated over the years that I've known them, and we've known them for a long time. Since before we even started going to Hogwarts.

"Hello?" I shouted happily when we walked into the Weasley's house.

"Ah, it's our favorite other set of twins," Fred said, looking over the railing of the stairs.

"Other than ourselves of course," George added, looking over at us as well.

"Yeah, yeah, get ready! Now!" I shouted.

"Yes mum," George said, rolling his eyes, and the identical boys went to their room.

"Oh! Tori, Gabe you're here," Molly said, coming out of the kitchen, and hugging the two of us. "Have you already eaten?" she asked.

"Yep," I answered for us.

"Good, good," she said, bustling back to the kitchen.

"Oi you two, when did you get here?" I heard from the stairs. I looked up to see Bill standing there, half asleep.

"Just now. Why?" Gabe answered. Bill shrugged, and threw an arm around my shoulders, smiling at me sleepily. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's your deal?" I asked.

"Your boyfriend's here," he said, and Gabe glared at him.

"I don't have a boyfriend," I said, shooting a glare at Gabe. There's no need to go into protective brother mode.

"Well, whatever you say. Harry's upstairs though," he said, and there was a knock at the door. Bill went to answer, and I smiled largely when I saw Hermione on the other side. She smiled back and I tackled her in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Ron wrote to me. Mr. Weasley got an extra ticket to the Quidditch game."

"It's not just any Quidditch game Hermione-," I started to protest, and she held up a hand.

"I know, I know. The World Cup. Where's Harry and Ron?" she asked.

"Still upstairs in bed," Bill answered. Hermione grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs to Ron's room. We went inside and found them both still asleep, and I smirked.

"WAKE UP!" I shouted as loud as I could. I frowned when they didn't even stir, and I glared at their unconscious forms. I heard Harry groaning in his sleep, and he was sweating a lot. I shared a concerned glance with Hermione and she walked over and started shaking him.

"Harry? Harry?" she called to him, and he jumped awake.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Bad dream. When did you two get here?" he asked.

"Just now, you?" Hermione asked.

"Last night," he responded, putting his glasses on, while Hermione went to Ron's bed, and started shaking him.

"Ron! Wake up!" she said, shaking him a bit. He wasn't cooperating, so I went into his sock drawer, pulled out a pair of clean maroon socks, balled them up, and threw them at him. I mentally gave my self a pat on the back when I hit him in the face, and Harry laughed loudly. Ron jolted awake, and saw Hermione standing over him.

"Bloody hell," he said, pulling the blanket up over his chest. I don't know what his problem is. He has a shirt on. And he takes his shirt off around me all the time.

"Honestly, get dressed, and don't go back to sleep," Hermione ordered. "Come on Ron! Your mother says breakfast is ready!" Hermione said, knowing that Ron always gets up for food. She rolled her eyes and left the room, and I laughed when Ron laid back down with his eyes closed.

"You know, your mother's going to be the one who comes up here next," I said, leaving the room. I poked my head back in, and both boy's heads shot back up. "And she won't be so nice. Better get up," I said with a smile, and went downstairs. 

"Are those boys up yet?" Molly asked me.

"Uh, they're getting there."

A lazy thirty minutes later, we were on our way to… well, wherever Arthur had us going.

"Where are we going exactly?" Harry asked.

"Don't know. Hey dad! Where are we going?" Ron shouted.

"Haven't the foggiest, keep up!" he shouted back.

Well that was comforting. We walked up to an older looking man, with a very good looking boy behind him. I smirked a bit at Ginny who was gawking at him.

"Arthur! It's about time!" the man said.

"Sorry Amos. Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start. This is Amos Diggory everyone, works with me at the ministry," he introduced. Diggory. Ah, so the yummy one is Cedric Diggory. Good to know for future reference. "And this strapping young man must be Cedric, am I right?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, sir," he said. Oh man…his voice.

"He's a seventh year Tori, don't even think of it," Hermione whispered to me. I raised an eyebrow at her. I looked back at Cedric, and saw him looking at me. When he realized he was caught, he smirked at me. I smirked right back at him, and looked at Hermione.

"Challenge accepted," I said, and she laughed.

"Merlin's beard, you're Harry Potter," Mr. Diggory said, staring at Harry, who looked annoyed. He quickly dropped his annoyed face when Mr. Diggory started talking to him.

"Yes sir," he said, sounding like he was forcing his politeness.

"Great, great pleasure," he said.

"Pleasure to meet you too, sir," he said, and when Mr. Diggory turned around, he glared at Cedric. I raised an eyebrow at him and caught his eye, sending him a questioning look. He merely shook his head and shrugged it off. I furrowed my eyebrows, and looked at Hermione who was fighting a smile.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said.

"Alright then," I said, unsure.

"That's it! Just over there!" Arthur said, pointing to an older looking boot. Ah, so we're taking a portkey! This should be fun. I looked at Gabe, and he paled. I know he wasn't too fond of the idea of portkeys.

"Shall we? We don't want to be late," Mr. Diggory said.

"Why are they all standing around that manky old boot?" I heard Harry ask, as Gabe and I knelt down by the boot.

"That isn't just any manky old boot, mate," one of the twins said.

"It's a portkey," the other finished, with Fred kneeling beside me, and winking at me. I rolled my eyes, and smiled at him. I grabbed onto a part of the boot along with everyone else.

"One… two…," Mr. Diggory counted.

"Harry!" Arthur shouted, and Harry quickly put his hand on the boot.

"Three!" he finished and we were off.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **So there was chapter one, of the second part of my Tori and Gabe series! I hope you liked it. I'll admit, it wasn't my best work, but it's the first chapter. That, for me, is always the hardest to write. But, review regardless?

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** It's time for chapter two! I'm really surprised at the amount of reviews I got last chapter! Ten reviews for the first chapter. That's awesome! Perhaps a little more this chapter?

A special thanks to:

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967**

**ariah23**

**Luli Cullen**

**EdmundsGirl1985**

**Cat Woman**

**viper marie Cahill**

**i am awesome**

**DietCokeIsMyLife**, for the reviews! And of course another thanks to **Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape** and **i am awesome** for the brilliant ideas!

And thank you all who added this story to your alerts and favorites!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its recognizable characters. I only own Tori, Gabe, and any other unrecognizable character. I also don't own the lyrics to "My Time of Dying". They belong to Three Days Grace. I listened to that song numerous times while I was writing this chapter. It really sets the mood for the scene after the World Cup, when they all run from the Death Eaters. You should really give it a listen. It's a great song!

**ooOOoo**

On the ground I lay  
>Motionless in pain<br>I can see my life flashing before my eyes  
>Dead I fall asleep<br>Is this all a dream  
>Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare<p>

I will not die (I will not die)  
>I will survive<p>

I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>I feel alive, when you're beside me<br>I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>In my time of dying<p>

On this bed I lay  
>Losing everything<br>I can see my life passing me by  
>Was it all too much<br>Or just not enough  
>Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare<p>

I will not die (I will not die)  
>I will survive<p>

I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>I feel alive, when you're beside me<br>I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>In my time of dying<p>

I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>I feel alive, when you're beside me<br>I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>In my time of dying<br>I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>I feel alive, when you're beside me<br>I will not die, I'll wait here for you  
>In my time of dying<p>

"My Time of Dying" – **Three Days Grace**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

We were flying through the air. I don't know about anyone else, but I was having a great time! I looked over at Gabe and saw that he was paler than I've ever seen, and I smirked at him.

"Let go kids!" Arthur shouted.

"What?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"Let! Go!" he shouted again, and we all let go of the boot. I remember almost landing flat on my back, but I was scooped up into a pair of strong arms before I hit the ground. I looked up to see the smiling, handsome face of Cedric Diggory looking down at me. I smiled back at him until I heard someone clear their throat. I looked over to find a glaring Gabe and… Harry? What the hell? I glared back at them as Cedric set me down on the ground, his arm staying around me, his hand resting on my hip.

"Thanks for catching me," I said to Cedric, ignoring the glaring boys.

"You're welcome Victoria," he said, smiling at me.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure everybody knows who you are since last year," he said, chuckling.

"Oh… right," I said, stepping away a bit.

"But I'll have you know that I wasn't one of the people who were angry at you for whatever reason they found to be angry at you last year," he said sincerely. I smiled.

"Thank you Cedric," I said.

"See you at the match," I heard Cedric's dad say to Arthur. Cedric reluctantly stepped away from me, taking my hand in his, and kissed the back of it. Sweet Merlin.

"I'll see you at the match Victoria," he said, and I smirked as he walked away. Gabe immediately walked over to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, still glaring at Cedric. I rolled my eyes at him, and we started walking toward the tent that we were going to be staying in.

"Home sweet home," Arthur said cheerfully.

"I don't like Cedric," Gabe grumbled, as we walked inside. The tent looked small from the outside, but inside the tent was huge, complete with chairs, a couch, cots, a kitchenette, and a bathroom.

"I don't care. You have no reason not to like him," I said.

"Are you kidding me Victoria? He had his hands all over you!" Gabe exclaimed, catching the attention of almost everyone in the tent.

"Ugh! It's none of your business!" I shouted back at him. We stood there, glaring at each other for a while, and then he huffed and walked away, to where Fred and George were, and sat down in a chair. Hermione came up to me and put her hand on my arm, and I looked at her. She gave me a small smile.

"Well… why don't you all pick your bunks," Arthur said. "Girls, you're right through there," he said, pointing to a separate part of the tent. Hermione, Ginny, and I all went and chose a cot.

"You know he means well," Hermione said.

"I don't care. He needs to stay out of my business. If a girl started showing interest in him, I wouldn't interfere," I said.

"I know… but he's your brother. It's different with brothers," she said.

"It's true," Ginny said, and I sighed. I walked back into the main part of the tent and found it empty. Everyone was sitting outside, and I took a seat between Ron and Harry. Ron looked over at me and smiled a bit, but Harry didn't look at me. I noticed that Gabe was with the twins and didn't look at me either. Whatever. I don't care. I don't know what's wrong with Harry though, so I nudged him.

"You alright?" I asked when he looked at me. He only nodded and smiled a little.

**ooOOoo**

I stepped out of the tent with Gabe when we were about to leave. I had changed into my outfit that I'd planned on wearing to the match, and Fred and George whistled.

"Someone's got some Irish pride!" George said.

"Both of them do, dear brother," Fred said.

It was true. Gabe and I both have Ireland shirts that we picked up when we went shopping with Andromeda. I was also wearing new jeans with knee high brown boots. I had also done my hair in a side braid, tied off with a green ribbon. Gabe and I had made up about an hour after our fight, like we usually do.

"Well, looks like you guys do too," I said, gesturing to their orange, white, and green face paint and they both winked at me. I rolled my eyes and grinned. We made our way to where the match was being held, and we climbed about five sets of stairs. I'm just glad my boots didn't have heels on them. But I, being my clumsy self stumbled a bit on the stairs, and I felt hands grip my waist. I looked up and was surprised to see Harry.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, smiling up at him. He had gotten taller, and was now taller than I was.

"You're welcome," he said.

"Blimey dad, how far up are we?" I heard Ron ask from behind Harry and me.

"Well, put it this way. If it rains… you'll be the first to know," I heard a cool voice say from under us. We looked over the railing to see Lucius and Draco Malfoy. I rolled my eyes, and they both smirked at me.

"Father and I are in the minister's box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself!" Draco said, and I almost laughed when Lucius rammed his cane into Draco's stomach.

"Don't boast Draco. There's no need with these people," Lucius said, looking directly at me, and Harry rolled his eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me away. We were nearly away from the railing when the snake head of Lucius' cane clamped down on Harry's foot. I narrowed my eyes at Lucius. "Do enjoy yourself. While you can," he said. I growled and kicked the cane off of Harry's foot, and Lucius glared at me. Harry kept hold of my hand, and pulled me up the stairs.

"Come on up, take your seats. I told you these seats would be worth waiting for," Arthur said excitedly. We were at the top of the stadium, and honestly, these were probably the best seats for watching Quidditch. We could see everything from up here!

"Hey!" I heard someone shout next to me, close to my ear. I turned to see Cedric smiling at me. I smiled back.

"Hey Cedric!" I shouted back. It was so loud that I could barely hear anything.

"It's the Irish!" I heard one of the twins shout and five green and white people ride out onto the Pitch on brooms, and I cheered loudly with everybody else. A glittery leprechaun appeared in the sky behind them, and began to dance in the air.

"Here come the Bulgarians!" one of the twins shouted, and five figures in red flew in on their brooms. A player appeared on the big screen Viktor Krum. A large part of the crowd started chanting his name.

"Krum!" I heard Ron shout.

"Yes!" I saw George shout.

"Good evening! It gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Let the match begin!"

**ooOOoo**

"There's no one like Krum," Ron started when we got back to the tent. I rolled my eyes. I'm so tired of hearing about Viktor Krum. I sat on the floor by Hermione, and laid my head on her shoulder. I was getting really tired. "He's like a bird the way he rides the wind. He's more than an athlete, he's an artist," Ron said. What? I laughed as the twins bumbled around, muttering "dumb Krum".

"Think you're in love Ron?" Ginny asked, and Hermione and I snorted.

"Shut up," Ron grumbled.

"Viktor I love you, Viktor I do!" the twins sang. "When we're apart my heart beats only for you!" they sang with Harry joining in. I laughed until I heard some crashing and screaming outside.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Fred said as Arthur rushed into the tent.

"Stop! Stop it! It's not the Irish," he said, panicked. "We've got to get out of here. Now."

I looked over at Gabe who ran over to me, taking mine and Hermione's hands, pulling us both up off the floor. Hermione ran to Ron and Harry while I stayed with Gabe. We all ran outside the tent. "Get back to the portkey, everybody. And stick together! Fred, George, Ginny is your responsibility," Arthur said, and took off. Probably to go help the other ministry workers. I looked around and saw a group of people in black robes with masks.

"Come on Victoria!" Gabe shouted at me, and we all took off to where we knew the portkey was.

"Harry!" I heard Hermione scream, and Ron pulled her along with us. We all got back to the portkey where Cedric was with his father.

"Thank goodness you all are alright!" Mr. Diggory exclaimed. "Where's Arthur?" he asked.

"Helping the others," I answered when no one else did. I looked around for Harry and grew increasingly more worried as the minutes passed and he never showed up. I grew tired of waiting and locked eyes with Hermione. I looked to see Gabe conversing with the twins, his arm wrapped around Ginny. I raised an eyebrow but didn't think too much of it. I noticed everyone but Ron, Hermione and I weren't really paying any attention to the fact that Harry wasn't with us. I pulled them both off to the side a bit. "We have to find him," I whispered, and was extremely pleased when both of them nodded, and looked back at the crowd that we were with. We all took off running, back in the direction we came from. After minutes of searching, we finally found Harry, looking off into the distance.

"Harry!" I shouted, and he looked at me, then Ron and Hermione, obviously relieved. I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and he, in turn, wrapped his arms around my waist.

"We've been looking for you for ages!" Ron exclaimed. "Thought we lost you."

"What is that?" Harry asked, gesturing to the sky. Before we had time to look, a barrage of spells were shot at us, and Harry pulled me to the ground with him, while Ron pulled Hermione down in the same fashion.

"Stop! That's my son!" I heard Arthur shout angrily. "Harry, Ron, Victoria, Hermione, are you alright?"

"Which one of you conjured this?" a man with a large mustache asked us. I raised an eyebrow, confused.

"You can't possibly…," Arthur trailed off.

"Do not lie! You've been discovered at the scene of the crime!" the man exclaimed.

"Crime?" Harry asked.

"Barty, they're just kids," Arthur interjected.

"What crime?" Harry asked, a little louder.

"It's the dark mark Harry, his mark," I whispered.

"Those people tonight, in the masks… they're his too aren't they? They're his followers?" Harry asked.

"Follow me," Barty told his group of people.

"There was a man before, over there!" Harry told them, pointing out in the distance.

"All of you, this way!" Barty shouted, and took of in the direction that Harry pointed them in.

"Harry, who?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, I didn't see his face."

**ooOOoo**

When we arrived back at the Burrow, Molly rushed out and gave each of us a bone crushing hug. I was overjoyed to find Uncle Remus there as well, and he rushed over, hugging Gabe and I at the same time.

"Are you both alright?" he asked, and we nodded. "Right, well, let's get home. There's a surprise there waiting for you two."

I raised my eyebrow but didn't object. Together the three of us made our short trip back to our small house. It was dark when we went inside, but Uncle Remus lit a few lights, and smiled at us. I furrowed my eyebrows. He was far too happy after we just went through a traumatic experience. "Come on out!" he shouted.

"What?" I asked. Then I saw him, looking the same as the last time I saw him. I felt tears well up in my eyes, and I smiled largely.

"Daddy?"

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Well, there's chapter two! Tori and Gabe's World Cup outfits are posted in a link on my profile if you would like to check them out. I really hoped you liked it. I decided to throw a bit of a surprise in at the end. So… a bit of Sirius will be in the next chapter. I didn't like how little of a role he got in the movie, so I had to throw more of him into this story.

**Suggestions?**

**Comments? Leave them in a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **So I'm positively surprised at how many reviews this story has already! I was so happy with the turnout that I decided to post a chapter earlier than before. So here's chapter three!

A special thanks to:

**Scarlett Angelica Potter**

**Luli Cullen**

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**viper marie Cahill**

**I 3 this story**

**I am awesome**

**Trixie Greenleaf**

**beach house in utah**

**tye-dye gurl**, for the reviews! And thank you so much to **Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape** for the brilliant idea that I used in this chapter, and to **viper marie Cahill** for the outfits that you made on Polyvore for the Yule Ball for Tori! They were amazing and I will probably use one when it comes time!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its recognizable characters. I only own Tori, Gabe, and any other unrecognizable characters. I also don't own the lyrics to "Crush". They belong to the wonderfully talented David Archuleta. I listened to this song while writing the chapter as well. Go give it a listen!

**ooOOoo**

I hung up the phone tonight  
>Something happened for the first time<br>Deep inside  
>There's a rush, what a rush<br>Cause the possibility  
>That you would ever feel the same way<br>About me  
>It's just too much, just too much<p>

Why do I keep running from the truth  
>All I ever think about is you<br>You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
>And I just got to know<p>

Do you ever think  
>When you're all alone<br>All that we can be  
>Where this thing could go<br>Am I crazy or falling in love  
>Is it real or just another crush<br>Do you catch your breath  
>When I look at you<br>Are you holding back  
>Like the way I do<br>Cause I'm trying, trying to walk away  
>But I know this crush ain't going away, going away<p>

Has it ever crossed your mind  
>When were hangin, spending time girl,<br>Are we just friends  
>Is there more, is there more<br>See it's a chance we've gotta take  
>Cause I believe that we can make this into<br>Something that will last, last forever, forever

Do you ever think  
>When you're all alone<br>All that we can be  
>Where this thing can go<br>Am I crazy or falling in love  
>Is it real or just another crush<br>Do you catch your breath  
>When I look at you<br>Are you holding back  
>Like the way I do<br>Cause I'm trying, trying to walk away  
>But I know this crush ain't going away, going away<p>

Why do I keep running from the truth  
>All I ever think about is you<br>You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
>And I just got to know<p>

Do you ever think  
>When you're all alone<br>All that we can be  
>Where this thing can go<br>Am I crazy or falling in love  
>Is it real or just another crush<br>Do you catch your breath  
>When I look at you<br>Are you holding back  
>Like the way I do<br>Cause I'm trying, trying to walk away  
>But I know this crush ain't going away<br>This crush ain't going away

"Crush" – **David Archuleta**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

"So that's what happened." I had just finished telling the tale of what happened tonight. Dad and Uncle Remus were shocked.

"Well," dad said, standing up, "I'm just glad that you two are alright."

"Why are you here? I mean, not that I'm not glad you are just… what if you get caught? What if someone comes by?" I asked.

"That's why I can't stay long," he said, smiling sadly at us and I frowned. "It won't be forever. Besides, I can still be here for a bit longer. I just wanted to see you two before I headed down south," he added.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Gabe said and I nodded eagerly.

"Me too," I said.

"So, are you two excited to go back to Hogwarts?" dad asked.

"Tori is," Gabe muttered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You know exactly what it means," he said grumpily.

"Actually I don't. Care to inform me?" I asked. I noticed Uncle Remus and dad watching us with amused looks on their faces.

"Two words. Cedric. Diggory," he said, and my eyes widened.

"What… you… what?" I sputtered angrily, and Gabe stood up from the chair he was in and began to walk down the hallway to the kitchen that was still in plain view of the living room.

"You know what I mean Victoria. I see how you look at him and frankly, it disgusts me. And you let him put his hands all over you like he was. Gross," he said.

"I don't look at him like anything! And he didn't have his hands 'all over me'," I said, using air quotes.

"Whatever. I don't like him," he said.

"Well thankfully no one asked you! And besides, what about you and Ginny? Don't think I didn't see you two getting a little cozy together when we were at the portkey," I shot back.

"W-what? Ginny and I are just friends!" he said, his cheeks turning a little red, and I smirked. "Don't look at me like that!" he shouted, going back to the living room. "Ginny and I are friends. Only friends."

"Well so are me and Cedric," I pointed out and he rolled his eyes. I sat between him and dad on the couch.

"Yeah, tell me that again a week after we return to Hogwarts," he said, and I slapped the back of his head. He glared at me and punched me playfully on the arm, and I punched him on the chest. "Blimey Tori!"

"Well don't hit me! You know I can hit harder than you," I said, smirking.

**ooOOoo**

Gabe and I spent a wonderful few hours with our dad. We did a little of the 'get to know' questions, and mostly it was dad asking such as, favorite color, favorite animal, what's your Patronus shape, etc. Dad was thrilled to know that Harry and I have been best friends since first year, and of course Gabe had to throw in that we fancy each other, which earned him a slap to the head. I assured dad that we don't and he only laughed. What is it with men in my family?

"I should be going," dad said standing up.

"Do you really have to?" I asked. I know I probably sounded like a 5 year-old but I don't care. I didn't want my daddy to leave already.

"I'm afraid so love," he said, pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back tightly and he kissed the top of my head. "We'll see each other again before you know it," he said, pulling away and hugging Gabe. "Look after your sister," he told Gabe. When he pulled away he smiled at all of us. "Watch after both of them Moony," he said to Uncle Remus.

"You know I will Padfoot," he said and dad nodded and turned into a dog, walking out the door, and into the woods. I sighed and retreated to my room. I wasn't going to cry. No. Victoria Rose Black doesn't cry. Yes, I slipped up last year when Harry and I stopped being friends, but that was because I thought I lost him. But right now, I just wanted to be alone. A few hours with my dad just weren't enough. I missed him already.

**ooOOoo**

Gabe and I climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. We had just got done telling them how 'Padfoot' came to visit us, and they were all happy for us. Harry was a little jealous, but he got over it quickly. We found an empty compartment, and Gabe ran off to find his friends. We quickly got into a discussion about what happened during the World Cup, when our compartment door was slid open. I looked up and was slightly surprised to see Cedric there looking at me. I raised my eyebrows.

"Um, Victoria, could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked and I smiled.

"Sure," I said and got up. He led us to an empty compartment, and shut the door. He sat us both down, grabbing my hand.

"So, Victoria, I-," he started.

"Tori. Call me Tori," I said.

"Okay then, Tori, I was wondering… you know the Hogsmeade visits… the uh, first one… would you want to um…," he trailed off. I smiled a bit. "Go with me?" he finished. "It's okay if you don't want to, I know that we don't really know each other but-," he rambled.

"I'd love to," I said.

"You would?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back and nodded.

"Well, um… I know you were sitting with your friends before, but would you like to stay here?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," I nodded.

For the rest of the train ride Cedric and I talked about trivial things, just getting to know each other better. We also talked about the World Cup, but avoided the scary moments after the game. We talked about how amazing the game itself was. We talked about our friends, and about ourselves, and when the time came when we arrived at Hogwarts, we shared a carriage. I stopped briefly to run my hand down the bony back of the Thelstral that was pulling ours.

"What are you doing?" Cedric asked.

"Oh… you can't see them. Thelstrals pull the carriages."

"Thelstrals?"

"Yes, marvelous creatures really. But they can only be seen by someone who's seen death," I told him.

"You've seen someone…," he trailed off, and I smiled a bit.

"My mum. She died when I was eight."

"I'm sorry," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"It's alright, really," I said.

The rest of the ride we chatted about meaningless things, only parting ways when we got to the Great Hall. I sat down with Hermione, Ron, and Harry, and smiled at them.

"You better tell me later," Hermione whispered fiercely to me, and I nodded happily. I noticed that Harry was staring at the Ravenclaw table, and a certain Ravenclaw was staring back at him. Cho Chang. I growled a little, and then caught myself.

Where the hell did that come from?

I heard Hermione snicker beside me and I glared at her. I guess she heard me.

"Now that we're all settled and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement," Dumbledore said, and everybody went silent. "This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen…," Dumbledore trailed off when Filch ran up to the podium in the most… odd way, and whispered something to Professor Dumbledore, and ran back, the exact same way. I looked across the table at Ron, who looked like he was trying hard to hold back laughter, which caused me to snort with laughter. I covered my mouth with both hands when Hermione elbowed me in the side. "Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard Tournament. Now, for those of you who do not know, the Tri-Wizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear, if chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint hearted, but more of that later. For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons Academy of magic, and their headmistress Madame Maxime," Dumbledore finished and the doors opened, and two lines of girls in blue uniforms proceeded to dance down the isle, and release butterflies into the air. Everyone, including myself applauded.

"Blimey, that's one big woman," Seamus said, gesturing to Madame Maxime, which was very true. She looked even taller than Hagrid!

"And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang, and their high master Igor Karkaroff," Dumbledore said, and a group of men walked up the hall, brandishing staffs, twirling them a bit, and slamming them onto the ground.

"Blimey it's him, Viktor Krum!" Ron exclaimed, and I smirked at him. I saw Karkaroff and Dumbledore exchanging pleasantries, and food magically appeared on the table. Finally! We all ate for a while, chatting with each other when Dumbledore stepped up to the podium again.

"Your attention please! I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But to do this the student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason, the ministry saw fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation Mister Bartimus Crouch."

"Bartimus?" I asked, and Harry and Ron laughed. Suddenly, thunder started to crash over head, and rain began to leak through the roof. And as quickly as it started, it stopped. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Bloody hell, its Mad-Eye Moody," Ron whispered, pointing behind me. I turned around, and sure enough, there he was. He truly kind of frightened me, with his badly scarred face, and that bloody magical eye that swiveled around of its own accord.

"Alastor Moody? The auror?" Hermione asked.

"What's an auror?" Harry asked.

"Dark wizard catcher," I answered. "Half the cells in Azkaban are full thanks to him."

"Supposed to be mad as a hatter these days though," Ron added on.

We watched as Dumbledore and Mad-Eye talked, and he took a drink out of his flask.

"What do you think he's drinking?" somebody asked.

"I don't know but I don't think its pumpkin juice," Harry answered.

"After much deliberation the ministry has concluded that for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. That decision is final," Barty Crouch said, and I was outraged. I was going to enter this thing!

"Boo!" I shouted along with the Weasley twins, who were just as angry as I was.

"Silence!" Dumbledore shouted. I looked at Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"Whoa," I said, and they all nodded. Dumbledore pulled a cloth off of an item that was brought in when his speech started.

"The Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly, if chosen there's no turning back. As from this moment the Tri-Wizard Tournament has begun."

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Wow, Dumbledore's speeches are long. Sure takes a lot out of a girl to write them all out. But hey, what do you expect? It's Dumbledore. He's pretty chill. Anyway, I hope you liked it!

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hello readers! I hope you had a good weekend. I just want you all to know, that most weekends, I won't have time to write. I'm always busy on the weekends, so I won't be writing, or posting on weekends. But that's only a few days out of the week! Anyway… wow, I'm astounded at how many reviews I got last chapter! 18! That's awesome guys! Thank you all so much. You're really inspiring me to write more!

A special thanks to:

**Drkness'sDaughter** (for both)

**Sorcha**

**Scarlett Angelica Potter**

**It's viper** (for both. Great songs by the way!)

**avril lavigne**

**prydain**

**Luli Cullen**

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**beath house in utah**

**trixie Greenleaf**

**I am awesome**

**viper marie Cahill**

**EdmundsGirl1985**

**I 3 this story**

**tye-dye gurl**, and

**DietCokeIsMyLife**for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any of its unrecognizable characters. I only own Tori, Gabe, and any other characters you don't recognize. I also don't own the lyrics to "Its Not Too Late," They belong to the beautiful and very talented Demi Lovato. It's from the Camp Rock 2 Soundtrack, and, to me, it's a beautiful song. Give it a listen!

**ooOOoo**

Here I am  
>Feels like the walls are closing in<br>Once again it's time to face it and be strong  
>I wanna do the right thing now<br>I know it's up to me some how  
>I've lost my way<p>

If I could take it all back I would now  
>I never meant to let you all down<br>And now I've got to try to turn it all around  
>And figure out how to fix this<br>I know there's a way so I promise  
>I'm gonna clean up this mess I made<br>Maybe It's not to late  
>Maybe it's not to late oh<p>

So I'll take a stand  
>Even though it's complicated<br>If I can I wanna change the way I've made it  
>I gotta do the right thing now<br>I know it's up to me some how  
>I'll find my way<p>

If I could take it all back I would now  
>I never meant to let you all down<br>And now I've got to try to turn it all around  
>And figure out how to fix this<p>

I know there's a way so I promise  
>I'm gonna clean up the mess I made<br>Maybe It's not to late

I'm gonna find the strength  
>To be the one who that holds it all together<br>Show you that I'm sorry  
>But I know that we can make it better<p>

If I could take it all back I would now  
>I never meant to let you all down<br>And now I've got to try to turn it all around  
>And figure out how to fix this<br>I know there's a way so I promise  
>I'm gonna clean up the mess I made<br>Maybe It's not to late

I never meant to let you all down  
>Now I've got to try to turn it all around<br>And figure out how to fix this  
>I know there's a way so I promise<br>I'm gonna clean up this mess I made  
>Maybe It's not to late<br>Maybe it's not to late oh yeah

"Its Not Too Late" – **Demi Lovato**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

"Alastor Moody. Ministry malcontent. And you're new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story, goodbye, the end," Professor Moody said. We were obviously in DADA, and I was sitting at a table next to Hermione. Across from me was Harry who was sitting next to Ron. "Any questions? When it comes to the Dark Arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?"

"Three, sir," Hermione answered as Professor Moody was writing on his chalk board.

"And they are so named?"

"Because they are unforgivable. Use of any one of them will…," Hermione started.

"Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. Now, the ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared, you need to find somewhere else to put your chewing gum other than the underside of your desk Mr. Finnigan!" he said, not turning around.

"No way… the old coger can see out the back of his head!" Seamus whispered. I smiled until Moody chucked a piece of chalk across the room at him.

"And hear across classrooms!" he shouted. "So, which curse shall we see first? Weasley!"

"Yes," Ron said weakly.

"Give us a curse."

"Well, my dad did tell me about one… the imperious curse," Ron said.

"Ah yes, your father would know all about that. Gave the ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why," Moody said, walking over to his desk, opening a jar and pulling out a large spider. "Engorgio!" he said, making the already large spider, larger. "Imperio," he said, and the spider rose from his hand. He then decided to have some fun, making the spider land on many people's desks, hands, heads, and faces. "Don't worry. Completely harmless! But if she bites… she's lethal."

I raised my eyebrow. Well that's brilliant. Let's put a biting, lethal spider on students' persons.

"Talented isn't she? What should I have her do next? Jump out the window?" he asked, sending the spider to the window. "Drown herself?" he said, making the spider hover over a bucket of water. He then quit, and made the spider land on his desk. "Scores of witches and wizards claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the imperious curse. But here's the rub… how do we sort out the liars? Another… another… Come on, come on. Longbottom is it?" he asked Neville and I sighed. Neville nodded. "Up," Moody said. "Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology," he said.

"There's the um… the cruciatus curse," Neville said.

"Correct! Correct! Come, come," he said, guiding Neville to his desk, to the spider.

"He can't be serious," I muttered to Hermione, and she just gave me a scared look.

"Particularly nasty. The torture curse," Moody muttered. "Crucio!" he growled. Instantly, the spider started screaming, and writhing around on the desk. I felt it was hard to breathe. I felt my chest tighten painfully. I felt tears well up in my eyes for some reason. Hermione gripped my hand under the desk. Neville looked just as bad as I felt. He had gone pale, and was shaking slightly, his eyes not leaving the spider that was currently being tortured before our eyes.

"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!" Hermione shouted suddenly. Moody glanced at Neville, breaking concentration, thus breaking off the spell. The spider silenced and tiredly crawled away. Moody picked the spider up and laid it on Hermione and my table.

"Perhaps you can give us the last unforgivable curse Miss Granger," Moody suggested, and Hermione shook her head, breathing heavily. "How about you Miss Black?" he asked, but I didn't acknowledge that he had even spoken to me. I kept my eyes glued to the horribly treated spider, who was seemingly cowering on our table next to our books. My throat constricted and a tear ran down my face at the sight of it. You couldn't help but feel bad for it. Even if it was a spider. And to think that this curse has been used on human beings. It makes me sick. "Avada Kedavra!" Moody growled again, killing the spider. "The killing curse. Only one person has been known to survive it. And he's sitting in this room," Moody said, looking at Harry and taking another swig of whatever was in his flask.

Class ended not too long after that and I rushed out of class, uncharacteristically not waiting for Ron, Harry, and Hermione. For some reason, those unforgivable spells did a number on me. I stood on the staircase by the window, staring out at the grounds when I felt someone come up beside me. I looked over to see Neville standing there, with a far off look on his face. He glanced at me and he sighed. I laid my head on his shoulder, and he laid his head on mine. Now I know that this may look like we're more than good friends, but believe me, we're not.

"Neville? Tori?" I heard a soft voice say from behind us. I turned to see a concerned Hermione, but noticed that Neville didn't move at all. I heard a heavy clunking sound from behind Hermione, Harry, and Ron, and Moody appeared from behind them. I narrowed my eyes a bit at him and turned back to the window.

"Son. You alright?" he asked Neville. Neville glanced at him and merely nodded. Moody kept his hand on Neville's shoulder and started to lead him away from us. "Come on, we'll have a cup of tea. I want to show you something." I raised my eyebrow, and went to grab Neville, but Harry grabbed me around the waist, holding me back.

"Harry, he shouldn't-," I started.

"He'll be fine," he said, holding me at arm's length. "Okay?"

I nodded, "yeah. Fine."

"Come on, let's go watch people enter the tournament," he said to all of us.

**ooOOoo**

Hermione, Ron, Harry, and I were all in the Great Hall, watching students from each school entering their name in the Goblet of Fire. Cedric and some of the Huffelpuffs came running up to the Goblet, and Cedric walked past the age line that Dumbledore drew, and put his name in. As he let the slip of parchment go, he looked at me and winked. He looked like he wanted to come over to me, but his friends were calling his name, and he looked at me apologetically. I smirked and waved him off, and he smiled and left.

"Eternal glory, be brilliant wouldn't it?" Ron asked Harry and I. I noticed that Harry was in a mood again, and didn't answer Ron. I really don't know what his problem has been lately, but it was really bugging me to no end. "In three years from now, we'll be old enough to be chosen."

"Yeah well, rather you than me," Harry said without looking at us. As soon as he finished speaking, Fred and George ran into the Great Hall, with two vials of potion in their hands.

"We've done it!" they shouted together, and the students in the hall, minus Hermione and I, started clapping and cheering.

"Thank you, thank you," George said, mock bowing. "Well all, we've done it."

"Cooked it up just this morning," Fred said. Now I know what they were talking about. Fred and George were bragging to me last night that they were going to trick Dumbledore, and make an aging potion to enter the tournament. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"It's not going to work," Hermione sang, and I smirked when the twins sat on either side of her.

"Oh yeah? And why's that Granger?" Fred asked.

"You see this?" she said, pointing at the line around the Goblet. "This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself," she said, as if that answer was enough. But I knew, as well as Ron, that, that answer would not be enough to satisfy Fred and George Weasley.

"So?" Fred asked. See, I told you.

"So," Hermione said smiling, closing her book that she was reading. "A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something as pathetically dimwitted as an age potion," Hermione finished, like it was the simplest and most obvious thing in the world.

"Ah, but that's why it's so brilliant," George said, standing.

"Because it's so pathetically dimwitted," Fred finished.

"Ready Fred?"

"Ready George," Fred answered, and they both shook their potion, and took the corks out of the vials.

"Bottoms up!" they said together, and drank the potion. I watched in amusement as they crossed the age line, and entered their names into the Goblet. I laughed along with Ron and Harry when the Goblet seemingly came to life, throwing their names out, and they were sent to the ground with new, long, gray beards, and long gray hair.

"You said…," Fred said.

"You said…," George said after, and then they both lunged at each other, rolling around on the floor. I'd seen this quite a few times, so I didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as everyone else, who was crowded around the identical teenagers cheering and laughing. I stayed seated as Harry and Ron got up, joining the crowd around the twins. Hermione moved, and sat next to me, and rolled her eyes. I smiled at her, and she smiled back, opening her book and beginning to read again.

Everything in the hall fell silent in a matter of seconds. I looked over and saw that Viktor Krum entered the hall, and put his name into the Goblet. And to my surprise, he looked at Hermione as he was entering his name and smiled at her, just as Cedric had done with me. I looked over at Hermione who seemed like she was trying to look anywhere but at Viktor. I smirked and nudged her, and she glared harshly at me. To many, they would back down under the ferocious glare of Hermione Granger, but to me it was amusing. I merely laughed at her, and she went back to her reading.

**ooOOoo**

It quickly descended to Thursday. The day that would determine the champions for the tournament. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and I all went to the Great Hall, and took a seat.

"Sit down please! And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the champions selection!" Dumbledore said, approaching the Goblet of Fire. Suddenly the blue flame grows larger and turns red, and a piece of parchment flies out, into Dumbledore's hand. "The Durmstrang champion is… Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore shouts, and the entire crowd cheers. "The champion from Beauxbatons… Fleur Delacour!" he shouted, and again the entire hall erupts into applause. I'd met Fleur in the hallway just the other day, and she seemed like a very sweet girl. We literally bumped into each other in the hallway as I was heading for Transfiguration, and my books fell out of my hand, and she apologized profusely, and helped me gather them up. We stood there for a while, just talking, me having a hard time understanding what she was saying because of her thick French accent, but I managed. "The Hogwarts champion… Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore shouted, and I cheered loudly with everybody else. Cedric looked back at me before he entered the room that all the other champions went to and smiled largely at me, and I smiled back. "Excellent, we now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Tri-Wizard Cup!" Dumbledore said, and we all looked at the beautiful blue cup. But then, the flames in the Goblet grew red again, and another piece of parchment flew out into Dumbledore's hand.

And then he said it.

"Harry Potter," he said quietly at first, and my heart stopped. "Harry Potter?" he asked, shocked.

"No… no," I heard Hagrid say from the staff table. I looked at Harry, who'd gone pale, and looked terrified and confused. I gripped his hand tightly, and he squeezed just as tight.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore shouted.

"Go on Harry," Hermione said, pushing Harry a little. "Tori let him go," she told me, and I reluctantly let go of his hand. I watched Harry slowly walk up to the front of the hall, people occasionally protesting, saying that Harry was a cheat. Shortly after Harry went into the room, we were all dismissed, and Hermione, Ron, and I all made our way to the Gryffindor common room. The entire way, Ron was infuriated.

"I can't believe him," he said when we got to the common room.

"You can't honestly believe that he did it," I said, incredulously.

"You don't?" he shouted.

"Of course not! How could he?" I asked.

"He could have found a way. He probably asked one of the older students to do it!" Ron shouted at me.

"You're barking! Have you not heard him every time you told him that it would be great? He clearly wouldn't have entered even if he was of age!" I shouted back at him.

"Of course you would believe him. Cedric is pretty much your boyfriend and you're still pining after Harry," Ron said.

"Go to hell Ron! You don't know anything. Anyway, this isn't about me! Did you not see Harry's face when he was called up there?" I asked, getting angrier and angrier from each word Ron was saying.

"What about you, do you believe him?" Ron asked Hermione.

"I… Ron… I don't know," Hermione stuttered, still in shock from what happened.

"How don't you know? Either you think he did it or you don't!" Ron shouted at her, and I shoved him away from Hermione.

"Don't talk to her like that Ronald!" I shouted at him, and he glared fiercely at me, and walked up to his dorm. I sighed and looked at Hermione, who had tears in her eyes. I pulled her over to the couch, and wrapped my arms around her neck. Almost immediately I felt my shoulder get wet through my school shirt. "You know he didn't mean to yell at you like that Hermione, he was just angry."

"It's not just that Tori. How could this happen? Why Harry? He could get killed during this tournament," she cried, pulling away from me.

I felt my throat tighten, and my breath catch. "I know, but no matter what happens… it will be okay…," I trailed off, not really knowing what to say. Hermione nodded. "You should go get some sleep," I said.

"No, I should wait for Harry," she said.

"I'll wait for Harry, you look tired Hermione," I said, and she nodded, leaving the couch and going up the stairs to our dorm.

I sat in the same place for I don't know how long, staring at the dying flames of the fire in our common room. I was taken out of my daze when the portrait swung open, revealing a terrified Harry. He looked at me, and sat down beside me.

"I didn't do it," he said immediately.

"I know," I responded, and he looked at me with wide eyes.

"You do?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. "I do, believe it or not, listen to what you say nearly all the time. I heard you every time you said that you wouldn't want to compete."

"It's always me," he said.

"I know," I said. "And it's not fair. But you know, no matter what, I'll be here."

"I know Tori," he said, pulling me into a hug.

I smiled despite the situation. But I had a feeling that this happiness wouldn't last.

I have a feeling that this wouldn't be a good year.

Something bad is going to happen.

I can feel it.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Well, after a long weekend, there's chapter four! It took me a long time to write, but I got so many reviews last chapter that I decided to make this chapter a longer one. No Gabe in this chapter. I don't know if that disappoints anyone, but this story, as well as the other ones will mostly revolve around Tori. Until the last one, but you'll see why when the time comes.

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Well guys, here's chapter five! Only eight reviews last chapter, but hey, that's better than nothing! Link to Tori and Gabe's outfits on my profile page! I really don't know what to say for this so, enjoy the chapter!

A Special Thanks To:

**viper marie Cahill**

**Luna Edwards**

**prydain**

**My Flawed Design**

**Luli Cullen**

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**DietCokeIsMyLife** and,

**Sorcha**, for the reviews and ideas!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter or any recognizable characters. I only own Tori, Gabe, and any unrecognizable characters. I also don't own the lyrics to "Runaway," they belong to the talented country band Love and Theft. Normally, I don't like country music, but this song is fantastic. Give it a listen, even if you don't like country music!

**ooOOoo**

It's been a long week,  
>I've got a slow leak in my left front tire.<br>I'm sick of where I work,  
>my boss is such a jerk, don't care if I get fired.<br>My back is about to break,  
>no money in the bank<br>and she don't call me anymore.  
>I'm down to my last ring<br>it's time to sell my things,

(chorus)  
>and pack my bags and never look back,<br>run a parallel line with the railroad tracks,  
>and make my get away.<br>I'll put the pedal to the medal as the sun goes down,  
>leave everybody sleepin' in this sleepy town tonight,<br>and at the break of day i'll be a run away.

A hundred miles in,  
>I've got a supid grin on my scruffy face,<br>and every cigarette i'm burnin' my regrets  
>don't want to leave a trace,<br>and from my rearview,  
>I got a clear view,<br>of who I used to be,  
>a little bit faster now don't want to turn around,<p>

(chorus)  
>and pack my bags,<br>and never look back,  
>run a parallel line with the railroad tracks,<br>and make my get away.  
>I'll put the pedal to the medal as the sun goes down,<br>leave everybody sleepin' in this sleepy town tonight,  
>and at the break of day,<br>I'll be a run away,  
>I'll be a run away,<br>I'll be a run away,  
>I'll be a run away,<p>

It's crazy i know,  
>to count on this road to give me what i need,<br>but with every state line  
>somehow I find another part of me<br>-yeah-e-yeah-  
>and pack my baggs,<br>and never look back,  
>run a parallel line with the railroad tracks,<br>and make my get away,  
>I'll put the pedal to the medal as the sun goes down,<br>leave everybody sleepin' in this sleepy town tonight.  
>and at the break of day,<br>I'll be a run away,  
>I'll be a run away,<br>I'll be a run away,  
>I'll be a run away.<p>

"Runaway" – **Love and Theft**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

I was strolling through the empty corridors at about 12 on a Saturday night. I couldn't take being held up in the common room any longer. Hermione was asleep, along with Ginny, and Harry was in his dorm with Neville and the other guys. Ron was still angry with me, and with Harry. Cedric and I had also become closer during the past few days. As of late, we've been spending a lot of time in deserted corridors, snogging. It hasn't gone any farther than that. Don't you worry about that.

"Excuse me Miss Black, but what are you doing out in the corridors at this time of night?" I heard a male voice speak from behind me. I smirked and slowly turned around.

"Why, Mr. Diggory, I could ask you the same question," I said, and he smirked at me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Prefect duties," he said simply, backing me up against the wall, and leaning in closer to me.

"Lucky me then," I said, and he captured my lips with his. After a few minutes we pulled away from each other, and he smiled down at me.

"I don't think I could ever get enough of that," he said.

"Well unfortunately, it'll have to be enough for tonight. I have to get back to the Gryffindor tower," I said, and he pouted.

"You don't necessarily have to. I'm a prefect. With me you won't get into any trouble," he said.

"As tempting as that offer sounds, I really should get back. McGonagall will kill me if she catches me out late again, even with you," I said, and attempted to push Cedric away, but he wouldn't budge. He just leaned down and kissed me again. I smiled into the kiss, and laughed a bit when he pulled away. "You're very distracting."

"But I'm a good distraction?"

"Very good," I said, pulling him back down to meet my lips by his tie, and he chuckled a bit, putting his hands on my hips. After a few moments I pulled away, looking up at him. "I really have to go now," I said, smiling. I felt Cedric very reluctantly let me go, and looked down at me.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course," I said, and began my journey back to the Gryffindor common room. I entered through the portrait hole and saw Harry on his hands, and knees in front of the fireplace, whispering to it. My eyes widened a bit, and Harry stood up quickly, but his tense posture relaxed significantly when he saw that it was me. Harry's talking to fireplaces now… this school's finally done it. It's finally broken him. He's taking to nothing. Okay Tori, play this out… gently. You don't want to over do it.

"It's okay. It's just Tori," he said. And I raised my eyebrows. That just backed up my previous thought. Harry's gone around the bend.

"H-Harry? Who are you talking to?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Sirius," he said, glancing at me, and continuing his conversation with the fireplace.

"Right," I said slowly. "Harry, I think you need to go lie down," I said, slowly approaching him. I heard faint chuckling, and my eyes widened. Harry scoffed at what I said, walked over to me, and dragged me to the fireplace. I gasped a bit, and felt incredibly stupid when I saw my father's face in the glowing embers at the bottom of the fireplace.

"Oh! Daddy you really are here!" I whispered. "Sorry 'bout that Harry," I said, smiling sheepishly.

"What were you doing out of the common room at this time of night Victoria?" dad asked.

"N-nothing daddy… just… wandering a bit," I said, scratching the back of my head. Harry snorted.

"She was with her boyfriend," he said, and I slapped his arm.

"What? You have… you aren't allowed to have a boyfriend Victoria, you're much too young," dad said, and I smirked a bit. "Anyway Harry, Igor Karkaroff was a Death Eater. And no one, no one stops being a Death Eater," dad said, and I furrowed my eyebrows. Dumbledore was letting former Death Eaters into Hogwarts? Has the man gone insane? "Then there's Barty Crouch, heart of stone, sent his own son to Azkaban."

"Do you think one of them put Harry's name in the Goblet?" I asked.

"I haven't got a clue who put his name in the Goblet, but whoever did it is no friend to you Harry. People die in this tournament," dad said and I looked at Harry, with a worried expression on my face.

"I'm not ready for this Sirius," Harry said.

"You don't have a choice," dad said. Geez dad, can you get anymore blunt? I heard someone coming down the stairs from the dormitories and I stood up.

"Someone's coming!" Harry whispered fiercely.

"Keep your friends close Harry!" I heard dad say, and the person who was coming down the stairs entered the common room. It was Ron.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked Harry, not glancing at me.

"Me," I said.

"Probably just practicing for your next interview I expect," Ron said, glaring at Harry and I. With that, Ron left, going back up to his dormitory.

"He's acting ridiculous," Harry said.

"I agree," I said. "Let's go to bed Harry… it's late," I said and he nodded. We walked up the stairs together, and we got to the point where I had to go right, and he had to go left. "Goodnight," I said, and turned to go into my dorm.

"Tori," Harry called from behind me. I turned around and was enveloped into a hug. At first I was shocked, but I gratefully returned the hug. "If he hurts you… tell me," he whispered in my ear.

"Will do," I said, and lightly kissed him on the cheek, and entered my dorm with a huge smile on my face.

***Harry's POV***

In a couple of minutes, I'd lost my best friend, and was entered into one of the most dangerous tournaments that ever existed. And I didn't even want to be in it. Out of my three best friends, Tori had been the only one acting normal around me. Sure she was worried, but I would question what kind of friend she was if she wasn't. She had definitely grown up a lot over the summer. Her hair had gotten longer, and she had gotten a bit taller. She was still the shortest out of the 4th year Gryffindors… and probably the 3rd years as well. But it just draws me more to her. I shouldn't be thinking of Tori that way… she's my best friend… and my godfather's daughter… but any guy would be blind and stupid to not be attracted to her.

Cho… she's beautiful. She's smart. Did I mention that she's beautiful? I don't really know her… I've never even talked to her. She hasn't so much as glanced at me since the champion selection. I noticed that she's been eyeing Cedric a lot, but it seems so far that Cedric only has eyes for Tori, which infuriates me to no end.

'I shouldn't be jealous.' That's what I keep telling myself. 'You don't know that Cedric and Tori will last.' I shouldn't think that.

But I do.

***Gabe's POV***

Monday rolled around quickly after a short weekend, and I was on my way to the library after classes. I hadn't seen my sister in a while, and last I heard she was snogging with that stupid bloke Diggory. Can't imagine how Harry must feel about that. I know that he likes my twin in more than a friend, and honestly, I'd rather she be with Harry than Diggory. Something about him is just… off.

"Ugh what is it?" I heard someone grumble from a table near mine. I turned around and found Ginny Weasley at the table behind mine, struggling with homework. I gathered up my books and went to her table.

"Need some help?" I asked.

"Desperately," she said.

"What are you doing?"

"Charms," she said, and I smiled. My best class. Together, we accomplished the charm that she was trying to learn, and she was overjoyed. Merlin, she has a beautiful smile.

Wait, what?

This is Ginny! I can't think about her like that!

But its times like these… that I can't really help it. I mean… goodness she was just a beautiful girl. She wasn't the little girl that she was before. She's growing up. But I'll never be good enough for her.

But Merlin do I want to be.

***Tori's POV***

"Amazing. Amazing!" Neville said as he read a book about Herbology. Harry and I were sitting by a tree, near the Black Lake, and Neville was standing knee deep in the water.

"Neville… you're doing it again," Harry said as I leaned against him.

"Oh right… sorry," he said, sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it Neville, go right ahead and keep doing it," I said, sitting up and looking at Harry, "it's not a big deal."

Harry mock glared at me, but nodded. I smirked. Harry picked up one of the books that Neville brought along.

"Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs?" he asked, as he read the title.

"Moody gave it to me," he started and I growled when I heard Moody's name, "that day we had tea." Neville looked past Harry and I and waved to whoever was behind us. I turned around, as did Harry, and saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny standing there, Hermione and Ron whispering to each other. I raised an eyebrow and took the book from Harry and started skimming through the text.

"Ronald would like me to tell you that Seamus told him that Dean was told by Parvarti that Hagrid was looking for you," Hermione said, and I looked up from the book at her, trying to decipher what she just said.

"Is that right," Harry began sarcastically, "Well…what?"

"Umm…," Hermione trailed off, and walked back over to Ron. They whispered for a second, and I stood up.

"Why can't Ron tell Harry himself?" I asked, but Hermione paid me no mind, but Ginny shrugged and looked at me apologetically. Hermione came back and I saw Ron glare at me over Hermione's shoulder. I had half a mind to take out my wand and hex him into next year, but I held back for Ginny's sake. I'm sure she didn't want to see her brother get seriously injured.

"Dean was told by Parvarti that… Please don't make me say it again. Hagrid's looking for you," she said, shooting me a smile. I smiled back.

"Well you can tell Ronald…," Harry started.

"I'm not an owl!" Hermione shouted at Harry.

Then out of nowhere, Ginny came up to me. "Someone wants to see you."

"Who?" I asked.

"You'll see… come on," she said, and I looked back at Harry and he smiled at me a little and waved me away. I smiled back apologetically and followed Ginny. She led me into the forest… the exact place I was planning not to go this year, and led me to a clearing, which was filled with large cages and tents.

"What the hell is this?" I exclaimed.

"I know that voice anywhere!" I heard a deep voice call from inside one of the tents. I looked at said tent, and Charlie Weasley poked his head out. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh of course you would be here," I said, flatly. He laughed and ran to me, scooping me up in a hug. I laughed and hugged him back just at tightly.

"Thank you little sister for bringing my other little sister to me!" he said dramatically to Ginny, who giggled at her second eldest brother. "And YOU! Why haven't you written to me?" he exclaimed to me, pointing his finger in my face.

"Well Charlie, I didn't know you could read human writing anymore… thought you would only be speaking dragon by now," I said, without even cracking a smile. It may seem as though I don't like Charlie, but that's the farthest thing from the truth. Charlie just so happens to be one of my favorite Weasley's.

"Your wit never ceases to amuse me Victoria," he said, pulling me into a headlock.

"Ah! Let go of me dragon boy!" I screamed, and he laughed, letting me go. "So why are you here?" I asked.

"The tournament," he said, gesturing to the dragons. My eyes widened.

"Sorry… what?"

"Yeah," he said. "You want to see some dragons?"

"Um… YES!" I said. I wasn't as fascinated by dragons as Charlie was, but hey, I have to admit, they're pretty cool.

"Come on Ginny, I'm sure you could handle seeing them again," he said, and I grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her along with me. If I had to sit through a dragon lesson, she would too. "Your brother came to see me last night," he said casually to me.

"What! Why didn't you get me?"

"Ginny said she couldn't find you. Something about you and a boy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me, and I smiled sheepishly. Right… I was with Cedric last night. "Anyway, this one is the Welsh Green," he said as we got to one of the cages. I looked inside to see a sleeping, beautiful green dragon; with two golden colored horns on its head, and a long tail, and what looked like would be large wings.

"Does this one breathe fire?" I asked, and he nodded.

"She's sleeping right now, so it's safe for you to get closer, just stay quiet so that you don't wake her up," he said, and led me closer to the dragon's cage.

"Can I touch her?" I asked, and he nodded eagerly. I reached through the bars and ran my hand gently over the cold, scaly skin on the dragon's side. I smiled a bit, and backed away.

"You're the first one brave enough to touch one," he said proudly. "I wasn't even going to ask, but I'm glad you did. Dragon's really aren't that vicious, unless it's a mother protecting her eggs."

"That makes sense," I said, as he led me to another cage with a sleeping dragon inside.

"This one is the Swedish Short Snout," he said. This dragon wasn't particularly pretty, but looked rather scary. It only had two legs, and one large, bone colored horn sticking out of the top of its head.

"This one isn't as pretty as the other," I commented, and Charlie laughed a bit.

"I'm sure you'll like the next one," he said, leading me to another cage. I looked inside and saw a beautifully colored red dragon, with spikes running down its back. It also had a sort of crown around its neck, which was red, with yellow on the tips.

"Wow, you're right… she's so pretty!" I said. I took a cautious step forward and looked up at Charlie, "can I-," I started.

"Of course," he said, and I stepped closer to the cage, and ran my hand over the dragon's skin. This one was different than the other one, instead of having cold skin, this one's was warm.

"Ginny, come here," I said softly, and she shook her head, looking at me like I was crazy.

"Are you kidding?" she asked.

"Ginny… come on. If I can do it, you can do it. Just come on!" I said. Charlie looked as if he was going to laugh, but he held it back. "Ginny. Now. Please?" I asked, and she glared at me, but reluctantly took a few steps forward. She sighed, looking back at Charlie, who nodded to her, and she reached out her hand, and gently touched the sleeping dragon. I smiled as her eyes widened, and she smiled.

"Merlin… why didn't I do this last night?" she asked softly.

"Come on girls, there's one more dragon left to see," Charlie said, leading us away from the dragon.

"Which one was that one?" I asked.

"The Chinese Fireball," he said, and I snorted at the name.

"What?" he asked.

"Sounds a little cliché," I said, and he smirked at me. "She was still my favorite though."

"Now this one is the Hungarian Horntail," Charlie said, keeping us a fair amount of distance away from the cage. "This one is the most aggressive out of all of them, so it's preferable that you don't get any closer," he said. This certain dragon didn't seem to be asleep. Instead it was moving around in its cage, and when it spotted us, it roared loudly, and blew fire out of its mouth, Charlie immediately pushing Ginny and I to the ground, his body shielding ours. Once it was finished, we moved away quickly. "Best we stay away from her."

"No kidding," I muttered.

"It's getting late, you two should be getting back to the school," he said, and Ginny and I nodded. Charlie pulled me into a hug, and patted my back. "It was good seeing you Tori."

"You too Charlie. You should come back from Romania a bit more often," I said, and he chuckled and let me go.

"I'll try," he said, and waved as we walked off.

"That was fun," I said.

"Oh yeah, loads. I love almost being killed by dragons," she said, and we both paused.

"You don't think…," she trailed off.

"I hope not."

**ooOOoo**

I was walking around the corridors, yet again. Harry was out with Hagrid, and Hermione was reading. Ginny left a while ago, saying something about the Ravenclaw common room, and Gabe. Those two are getting very close lately, and I couldn't be happier. They're so cute together. But Ginny assured me that they were nothing but friends.

"Victoria," I heard a soft voice say from behind me. I turned around and was genuinely surprised to see Cho Chang standing there, and glaring at me. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I want to talk to you about something," she said.

"Alright then," I said, straightening up. Something tells me that this wasn't going to be a friendly talk.

"It's about Cedric," she said, and I stiffened a bit. I think I know where this is heading.

"Is it now?" I asked.

"I've wanted to be with him for a few years now. And I'm not about to let you take him right out from under me," she said, narrowing her eyes at me. I rolled my eyes, and decided not to say anything back. I'm better than some petty cat fight over a guy. I turned around and started walking back in the direction I was heading in before. Suddenly, without warning, I was knocked over.

Cursing someone while their back was turned. Now that was low. The biggest cheap shot a witch or wizard could produce. My anger levels at this point were dangerously high. I stood back up, taking my wand out of the back pocket of my jeans and aiming it at her. She tried to shoot another spell at me but I shielded myself and disarmed her quickly.

I may not be an expert at school work, but I was, if I do say so myself, an excellent dueler.

I caught her wand out of the air and aimed mine at her.

"Picking a fight with me over Cedric is one thing, but hexing me while my back was turned was another. You may be older than me, and a Ravenclaw, but this just goes to show that I'm a better dueler," I said, and she looked genuinely frightened at this point. "You really like him. I get it, okay? Been there myself. But… picking fights, and throwing cheap shots like that won't get you what you want," I said, being the bigger person for once, and throwing her wand to her, which she caught and looked at me with wide eyes, probably not expecting me to not hex her back.

"You can't have them both," I heard her say as I turned around. I faced her once again.

"Excuse me?"

"Harry and Cedric. You can't have them both," she said, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," I scoffed, and walked away from the Ravenclaw.

Have them both? Harry and Cedric. What? I have Cedric, and Harry's only my friend. I don't think of him like that anymore. I think that my crush on Harry was just a phase.

Was it?

Do I still have a crush on my best friend?

"Tori," I heard someone whisper. I looked around for the source of the noise, and couldn't find anyone. I nearly screamed when I turned back around and saw the floating head of Harry right in front of me.

"Merlin Harry!" I whispered.

"Sorry," he said, smirking. "Let's go back to the common room. I have something to tell you," he said, throwing the invisibility cloak around me as well. When we were safely back in the common room, we were pleased to see that no one was awake.

"Dragons," Harry blurted out. "That's the first task Tori! I mean can you believe it? Dragons!" he exclaimed.

"I… I know Harry," I said, and he narrowed his eyes at me. Oh, no. Not a repeat from last year. "Wait! I only found out today, and I would have told you but you were already gone with Hagrid. I figured that, that's where you were going…," I said, and he relaxed, and nodded.

"How did you know?"

"Ginny took me to see Charlie. He wanted to see me. I got to pet two of the dragons!" I said, excitedly, and he looked at me horrified.

"When I saw them, there was fire being shot around and a lot of roaring! How did you pet them?"

"The only one that was doing that when I got there was the Horntail. The others were asleep," I explained, and he nodded and smiled.

Well that answered my question.

I definitely still have a crush on my best friend.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **I just couldn't stop writing for this one! For the dragons, I looked up the appearance of the dragons on Harry Potter Wiki, so I'm pretty sure they're alright. I hope you guys liked this chapter! The next one will be up tomorrow.

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm so sorry about the long wait. I had a minor case of writer's block, and needed some time to think. Plus, I started a new Twilight story, and I've been focusing on that one a bit. But, I'm back on track with this one so don't worry! Not as many reviews last chapter as I've gotten so far with this story. I'm aiming for over 100 reviews by the end of this story, so can you help me reach my goal? That would be awesome, and I'd be eternally grateful! The links I've been using for Tori and Gabe's outfits are no longer on my profile. I added them to a collection on Polyvore, and have posted that link on my profile instead. Go give them a look!

A special thanks to:

**Sorcha**

**viper marie Cahill**

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**DietCokeIsMyLife** and

**Luli Cullen** for the reviews and suggestions!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, or any of its recognizable characters. I only own Tori, and Gabe and any other unrecognizable characters. I also don't own the lyrics to "Just Missed the Train". They belong to the beautiful and talented Kelly Clarkson. Go give it a listen.

**ATTENTION: **This is completely unrelated to the story, but two days ago I saw The Hunger Games movie. Oh my gosh. If you haven't seen it, and have read the book… **GO SEE THIS MOVIE. **It is absolutely amazing. If you liked Harry Potter, and thought the movies were great, you'll like this. If you've seen it, add your opinion in a review! I'd like to know your thoughts!

**ooOOoo**

Roll over baby  
>The time has come<br>To make a little bit more room  
>I've hung around you<br>It's getting tough  
>I think I'm gonna break down soon<p>

Well, I remember  
>Crying in the park<br>It was getting dark  
>Suddenly I looked up<br>You were my sky

So go on  
>And sleep darlin'<br>Why don't you pretend we were just a dream?  
>It's cool baby<br>It doesn't matter anyway  
>Well, I'm so sorry<br>Got to the station a little too late  
>Such a shame<br>We just missed the train  
>Just missed the train<p>

Be quiet angel  
>Don't make a sound<br>Save it for a rainy day  
>Oh can't you see me?<br>I'm such a mess  
>Trying hard to find my way<p>

Do you remember  
>Wastin' all the time?<br>We were feeling fine  
>Though we couldn't walk a line<br>We were alright

So go on  
>And sleep darlin'<br>Why don't you pretend we were just a dream?  
>It's cool baby<br>It doesn't matter anyway  
>Well, I'm so sorry<br>We got to the station a little late  
>Such a shame<br>We just missed the train

Oh why'd that train just pass us by?  
>Didn't anyone see we were stuck at the light?<br>Or we would've made it on time  
>Yeah<br>Yeah, yeah  
>Yeah...<p>

So sleep darlin'  
>Why don't you pretend we were just a dream?<br>It's cool baby  
>It doesn't matter anyway<br>Well, I'm so sorry  
>Got to the station a little too late<p>

So sleep darlin'  
>Why don't you pretend we were just a dream?<br>It's cool baby  
>It doesn't matter anyway<br>Well, I'm so sorry  
>Got to the station a little too late<br>Such a shame  
>We just missed the train<p>

"Just Missed the Train" – **Kelly Clarkson**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

It was the morning before the first task, and the stress was really showing on Harry. I'd been sneaking him sleeping draughts so that he could sleep at night. I'd probably have to slip an especially strong one tonight. Now, we were in the Great Hall, sitting alone, eating breakfast. Classes were canceled today for the champion's sake so that they wouldn't have anymore on their minds than the task tomorrow. There was a lot of hooting, and screeching above our heads.

"Mail's here," I stated, and Gabe's owl Argon landed in front of me. "Hey boy," I said, taking the letter from him and giving him some sausage. I opened the letter and rolled my eyes.

**Victoria,**

**I've received word that you, in fact, have a boyfriend. As your godfather, I absolutely forbid you to date anyone. You're much too young for a boyfriend, especially if that boy is a seventh year. You may date when you're twenty-five, and no sooner.**

**Remus**

I smirked at the letter. Right, like I would ever listen to that. I handed the letter to Harry, and he laughed.

A little later we were finished with breakfast and walking through the corridors, chatting about random things. Anything to get Harry's mind off of tomorrow. The halls were filled with students, who were all saying taunting things at Harry. My hands were clenched at my sides.

"Potter stinks!" someone shouted. I'd looked around and saw that they were all wearing badges that said 'Cedric rules!' and would change to 'Potter stinks!' I rolled my eyes. Can people in this school get anymore immature?

"Cedric rules!" a boy said as he ran by us.

"Thanks," Harry muttered.

We walked to the stairs that led to the courtyard, and two Huffelpuff students stood in our way.

"Like the badge?" the older boy asked, and the girl with him laughed condescendingly.

"Excuse me," Harry said politely, but they didn't move.

"Get the hell out of the way," I growled, and their smiles dropped, but they still didn't move. This heightened my anger tenfold, and I pushed both of them out of our way. Harry walked through, giving me an appraising smile, and led us over to Cedric who was standing with a group of his friends. Cedric smiled at me and stood from the bench he was sitting on and kissed me on the cheek.

"Hey," he said to me, kissing me again but this time lightly on the lips.

"Can I have a word?" Harry asked Cedric. Cedric looked down at me, weighing out his options, and let go of me. I nodded encouragingly at him, and he walked a little way away with Harry. His friends were still standing there, throwing insults at Harry, but they were immediately silenced when I threw them a harsh glare. So they were still afraid of Sirius Black's daughter? 'This could work out in my favor,' I thought with a smirk.

I felt someone grab my hand about a minute later, and looked up to see Cedric's smiling face. His friends had all left.

"I don't think your friends like me very much," I said.

"I like you very much," he responded with a smile, and I smiled back. "And besides, it's not that they don't like you… they're just afraid of you."

"Well, I guess that's better than not being liked," I said wistfully, and Cedric laughed. I hadn't told him about the incident with Cho, and I didn't plan to.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks Malfoy! He's vile and cruel! And you're just pathetic," I heard Harry shout at Malfoy. I smirked in approval. I saw Malfoy take out his wand. 

"Look out!" I screamed, but it didn't matter. Where Malfoy once stood, stood a little white ferret.

"I'll teach you to curse someone when they have their back turned!" It was Moody. I like him a lot more now.

"Professor Moody! Professor Moody… what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall asked, as she ran over to the scene.

"Teaching."

"Is that- is that a student?" she asked.

"Technically it's a ferret," he said back. Moody made the ferret bounce up and down in the air, and sent it up the leg of Goyle's trousers. Everybody was laughing. This was single handedly the best thing I've ever seen. It ranks up with Snape in a dress. Eventually to my dismay, McGonagall transformed Draco back to himself.

"My father will hear about this," Draco said to Moody.

"Is that a threat?" Moody asked.

"Alastor!" McGonagall shouted as Moody began to chase after Draco.

"Is that a threat? I could tell you stories about your father that could curl even your greasy hair boy! It doesn't end here!"

"Alastor," McGonagall said, finally catching Moody's attention. "We never use Transfiguration as a punishment. Surely Dumbledore told you that."

"He might have mentioned it," Moody muttered.

"Well, you will do well to remember it," she said, and walked off.

"Come with me," Moody said to Harry, and they left also.

"So, looks like I got you for the afternoon," Cedric said, and I smiled and nodded. "What would you like to do?" he asked.

"Want to go to Hogsmeade?" I asked.

"What? It's not a Hogsmeade weekend," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade?" I asked, ignoring his last statement.

"Well, sure I'd like to, but how exactly will we get there?" he asked, and I smirked at him, grabbing his hand and leading him to the One-Eyed Witch statue. When we got there, I looked around to make sure no one was there. I took out my wand and pointed it at the back of the statue.

"Dissendium," I muttered, and the hump-back of the statue opened, and I climbed inside. "Come on!" I whispered, and Cedric looked around and reluctantly climbed inside. I flicked my wand and the statue closed, leaving Cedric and I in the dark. "Lumos," I said, and I could finally see where I was. I grabbed Cedric's hand and led him through the dark tunnel. "You're not going to get me in trouble for this are you Mr. Prefect?"

"Of course not," Cedric said, squeezing my hand. "This is actually very interesting. I never knew this was here," he said.

"That's because it's a secret passageway," I said, putting emphasis on the word 'secret'.

"How did you find out about this?" he asked, as we came to the set of stairs. I climbed up, taking Cedric with me and opened the door to Honeyduke's cellar.

"Being good friends with Fred and George Weasley has its perks," I said as he climbed up, and looked around.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Well, right now we're in Honeyduke's cellar," I said, walking to the wooden stairs that led to the store. I opened the door, and looked around, making sure that no one noticed. I waved Cedric out quickly and shut the door.

"This is amazing," he muttered. I smiled and began to browse through the shop. "Well, since you brought me here, I say we go to the Three Broomsticks, and I treat you to a butter beer."

"That sounds great," I said, and he took my hand and led me to the Three Broomsticks. When we got there I got us a table while Cedric ordered our drinks. He was back in no time and set a bottle in front of me. "Thank you," I said with a smile, and he smiled back. I was going to ask him about the tournament, but I figured that he wouldn't want to talk about it. We sat in silence almost the entire time, and finished our butter beers quickly.

"We should probably get back," Cedric said, and I nodded.

This was an awkward, unscheduled Hogsmeade visit.

**ooOOoo**

I woke up the next morning and immediately had a knot in my stomach. Today's the day. I woke up late so Hermione wasn't in the room. I got dressed quickly, ran a brush through my hair, and applied a bit of make up. I went down to the common room and found Hermione there, pacing in front of the unlit fireplace.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, and I stopped dead in my tracks. "I was just about to come and wake you up! Let's go!" she said, grabbing my hand and pulled me out of the common room. She dragged me all the way to the Quidditch Pitch which looked completely different. I was about to go to the stairs to take a seat and she pulled me in a different direction.

"Where are we going?" I nearly shouted.

"Shh! Just come on!" she said. She led me to a curtain and she put her ear against it. "Psst. Harry! Is that you?" she whispered.

"Yeah," I heard. I let go of Hermione's hand and walked down the curtain a bit until I found another opening. I peeked into the room and saw Cedric standing there, looking nervous as hell. I quietly stepped in, and took his hand in mine. He jumped, startled, when I took his hand. When he saw that it was only me, he smiled a bit and pulled me into a tight hug. Suddenly, a flash left both of us momentarily blinded.

"Young love! Oh how… stirring. If everything goes unfortunately today you might make the front page," Rita Skeeter said, smiling at Cedric and I. I glared hatefully at Skeeter. I saw what she wrote about Harry, and it was utterly ridiculous. I've also seen her other workings, and she's….daft.

"You have no business here. This tent is for champions… and friends," Viktor Krum said to Skeeter. Oh man. Viktor Krum is my new hero.

"No matter. We've got what we wanted," she said, and left the room. As soon as she left Dumbledore entered.

"Good day champions. Gather round please," Dumbledore said and Cedric walked over to Dumbledore, his hand still in mine so I obviously went with him. "Now, you've wondered, you've waited, and at last the moment has arrived. The moment only four of you can appreciate. Miss Black… Miss Granger, what are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh… we um…," Hermione trailed off. I rolled my eyes, and kissed Cedric's cheek, then walked over to Harry and Hermione, kissed Harry's cheek and grabbed Hermione's hand.

"We'll just… go," I said, dragging Hermione out of the room and to the stands. We took a seat near Ron. Well, Hermione sat next to Ron. I sat on the other side of Hermione, not sparing Ron a glance. We waited a while, and watched as the Swedish Short-Snout was brought out, then a cannon sounded. My heart sped up when Cedric stepped out into the arena. Hermione gripped my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I watched as Cedric turned a large rock into a dog to distract the dragon which worked, and he went to the nest of eggs. Charlie's voice rang through my mind, 'Dragons really aren't that vicious, unless it's a mother protecting her eggs.' Damn. The arena was completely silent. The dragon's distraction wasn't working, and she turned her head and saw Cedric approaching the eggs. I stood up and went to the edge of the stands, leaning on the railing. I saw the dragon take in a breath. No.

"CEDRIC LOOK OUT!" I screamed as loud as I could, and just as Cedric grabbed the egg, the dragon breathed a line of fire out of her mouth. Thanks to my warning, Cedric ran out of the way. He wasn't fast enough to go unscathed, and his arm was burned. I cheered loudly when he was taken out of the arena and Dumbledore announced that he was safe. We all watched in amazement as Fleur and Viktor retrieved their eggs, and the it was Harry's turn.

"Three of our champions have faced their dragons and so each of them will proceed to the next task. And now, our fourth and final contestant," Dumbledore announced. Hermione stood up, as did I, and we gripped each others hands as Harry walked out into the arena. My heartbeat was erratic, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I watched as Harry tried to make a run for the egg, but was stopped short when the Horntail's tail smashed down in front of him. Hermione and I both screamed, and now, even Ron had joined us. At this time, I didn't care that I was mad at him and pulled him in between Hermione and I. I grabbed his hand, and apparently he didn't care that he was angry with me either, and squeezed my hand, just as hard as I was squeezing his. Harry dove behind a rock as the dragon blew fire at him.

"Your wand Harry! Your wand!" Hermione screamed. We all watched as the dragon paced around, looking for Harry. Almost out of nowhere, Harry's Firebolt flew by, and Harry jumped on it and flew off. The dragon broke the chain and flew off after him. When they were out of sight, my breathing became labored.

"Tori? Tori, calm down," Ron said, rubbing my back. I stumbled backwards and sat down, and Ron and Hermione both sat on either side of me. They were both talking softly to me throughout my panic attack.

"He'll be fine," Hermione said softly. "Have faith in him, okay?"

"Yeah…. Faith… right…," I said, standing back up. I turned my head and saw Fred and George looking at me concerned. I nodded at them and leaned on the railing again. We subtly heard the sound of a flying broom, and looked out into the distance. My heart soared when we saw that it was Harry. The entire arena erupted into applause.

"Yes! YES!" Hermione screamed, and I was cheering just as loud. I was surprised when I saw that Ron was cheering as well.

I don't know why… but I have a feeling that things were finally going to go back to normal.

Finally.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Well all, there's chapter six! I really don't have a lot to say so…

**Suggestions?  
>Comments?<strong>

**Leave them in a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I only own Tori, Gabe, and any other unrecognizable characters I also don't own the lyrics to "Brighter". They belong to the extremely talented band Paramore. Give it a listen!

So this is how it goes  
>Well I, I would have never known<br>And if it ends today  
>I'll still say that you shine brighter than anyone<p>

Now I think we're taking this too far  
>Don't you know that it's not this hard?<br>Well it's not this hard  
>But if you take what's your's and I take mine<br>Must we go there?  
>Please not this time. No, not this time.<p>

Well this is not your fault  
>But if I'm without you<br>Then I will feel so small  
>And if you have to go<br>Always know that you shine brighter than anyone does.

Now I think we're taking this too far  
>Don't you know that it's not this hard?<br>Well it's not this hard  
>But if you take what's your's and I take mine<br>Must we go there?  
>Please not this time. No, not this time.<p>

If you run away now,  
>Will you come back around?<br>And if you ran away,  
>I'd still wave goodbye<br>Watching you shine bright.

Now I think we're taking this too far  
>Don't you know that it's not this hard?<br>Well it's not this hard  
>But if you take what's your's and I take mine<br>Must we go there?  
>Please not this time. No, not this time.<p>

"Brighter" – **Paramore**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

After the first task was over, and everybody's nerves had calmed down a bit, a huge party began in the common room. I'd written to Uncle Remus, telling him about the first task, and the results. I changed out of my clothes that I'd worn to the event, and into my pajamas, and went down to the common room where I found Harry, hoisted up on the twins' shoulders, and everyone was cheering for him. I smiled when our eyes locked, and he smiled back.

"We knew you wouldn't die Harry!" George shouted, and I rolled my eyes, but smiled more.

"Lose a leg," Fred said.

"Or an arm," George added.

"Pack it in all together," Fred said.

"Never!" they shouted together. I couldn't help but laugh. I felt someone throw their arm around my shoulders. I looked up and saw the smiling face of my twin brother. I threw my arms around his waist, hugging him.

"Where were you at the task?" I asked and he shrugged. I raised my eyebrow. "Where?"

"I was sitting with my friends," he said.

"And?" I asked. By the look on his face I could tell that there was more to this story. I would know. I get that look too.

"Ginny alright?" he exclaimed, and I beamed.

"Oh, Ginny huh?"

"Don't get any ideas. We're only friends," he said quickly.

"For now," I said quietly.

"Go on Harry! What's the clue?" Seamus asked, handing Harry the egg.

"Who wants me to open it?" Harry asked, and everybody cheered. "You want me to open it?" he asked, and everybody cheered again.

"Just open the damn thing!" I shouted, and everyone laughed. Harry laughed as well, and opened the egg, which produced the most horrific screeching noise I've ever heard. Worse than the Fat Lady's singing voice. I immediately covered my ears quickly, and Harry scrambled to close the egg. When it was finally quiet, everyone uncovered their ears.

"What the bloody hell was that?" I heard from the other side of the common room. It was Ron. Oh boy.

"Alright everyone go back to your knitting. This is going to be uncomfortable enough without all you nosy sods listening in," Fred said, and Gabe leaned down and kissed my cheek.

"I have to go," he said, walking off. I watched with a huge smile as he went to Ginny, and told her something. Probably that he was leaving, and they hugged. Gabe glanced at me and rolled his eyes when he saw that I was watching. Ginny looked at me as well when Gabe left the common room, and she blushed, looking away. I laughed a bit and sat on the couch by Hermione.

"Who could possibly figure that out? It's completely mental," Harry said to Ron.

"Yeah it is isn't it? I suppose I was a bit distraught," Ron said.

"Boys," Hermione said.

"I suppose they made up?" I asked her.

"Yeah, finally," she said. I got up and walked over to the two boys and looped one of my arms through each of theirs.

"Yay! We're all friends again!" I shouted and they laughed.

**ooOOoo**

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and I were sitting at lunch the next day and Hermione and I were discussing Transfiguration homework. I glanced at Harry and saw that he was looking in the direction of the Ravenclaw table. I looked at their table as well and guessed that he was looking at Cho. Again. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Harry. He was looking at her with a goofy smile, and he opened his mouth a bit, and some pumpkin juice fell out of his mouth. I snorted and he snapped his head towards me, glaring.

"Smooth," I said, stifling a laugh.

"Shut up Tori," he muttered, facing us again.

"Relax Harry, seriously," I said, giving him a small smile. Suddenly, a young boy runs up behind Ron holding a box.

"Parcel for you Mr. Weasley," he said to Ron, handing him the package.

"Thank you Nigel," he says, taking the package from the young boy's small hands. I smiled at him, but he didn't leave. I raised an eyebrow, and Hermione cleared her throat, nodding to the boy who was still standing behind Ron. "Not now Nigel. Later. Go on," Ron said to him, and the boy huffed and ran off. Hermione and I both looked at Ron with raised eyebrows. "I told him I would get him Harry's autograph," he explained and I snorted while Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh look! Mum's sent me something," he said, opening the box. "Mum's sent me a dress," he said, looking horrified at the purple, antique, velvet robes that he pulled out of the box.

"Well it does match your eyes. Is there a bonnet?" Harry asked, looking through the box.

Ron stood up, picking up the box. "Ginny, these must be for you."

"I'm not wearing that, it's ghastly," she commented and I laughed. Hermione laughed as well.

"What are you on about?" he asked us.

"They aren't for Ginny, they're for you!" Hermione exclaimed, and the table burst into laughter. "Dress robes."

"Dress robes? For what?" Ron asked. Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and I all shrugged. We finished up our food when McGonagall stood up at the podium, calling for everyone's attention. She announced that the Gryffindor students, 4th year and up, were to meet her in the assembly room after lunch for an important announcement. The other houses had their assigned times as well but I didn't pay much attention to that. After we packed up our stuff, the four of us made our way to where we were supposed to go. McGonagall was already there, directing the girls to one side of the room, and the boys to the other. Hermione and I took a seat in the chairs that were provided. There was nothing in the center of the room besides McGonagall, Filch, and an old record player.

"The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Tri-Wizard Tournament since its inception. On Christmas Eve night we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for well mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the Yule Ball is first and foremost… a dance," McGonagall said, and I raised an eyebrow.

A dance?

Are you kidding me?

The boys all began grumbling and complaining which was immediately silenced by McGonagall. "Silence. The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizard world for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling, band of baboons," McGonagall said firmly, and I snorted, covering my mouth with my hand. I yelped quietly when Hermione elbowed me in the ribs. "Now, to dance is to let the body breathe. Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forward and take flight."

I looked over at the boys at this point and saw Seamus, Harry, and Ron all laughing at something. I caught Harry's eye and raised an eyebrow. He nodded toward a girl that was standing behind me. I looked and saw her, standing uncomfortably, her face red. I looked back at him, smirking. 'Be nice,' I mouthed to him. He only shrugged, smirking at me.

"Inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to pounce. Mr. Weasley, will you join me?" McGonagall asked. I smiled largely at Ron, who glared at me when he saw. He reluctantly got up and walked to McGonagall. "Now, place your right hand on my waist," she said.

"Where?" he asked in disbelief, and I snorted.

"My waist Mr. Weasley," she said, and he did as he was told. Fred and George made a few catcalls, and Ron dropped his hands, but McGonagall put them back where they were. "Bend your arm," she advised Ron. "Mr. Filch?"

On cue, the music started playing and Ron and Professor McGonagall began to dance. "One, two, three. One, two, three," she counted. "Everybody come together," she said and all of the girls, excluding myself, stood and walked to the center of the room. "Boys! On your feet!" McGonagall shouted. Hermione turned around from where she was standing, grabbed my hand and dragged me up, and to the center of the room. The boys reluctantly stood, and grabbed a girl. I smiled when Harry came up to me, extending his hand to me.

"May I have this dance?" he asked snobbishly.

"You may," I said, taking his hand. We watched McGonagall and Ron for a bit until we got into the rhythm and got the steps down. We helped each other through it and laughed at each others mistakes. 

I wanted to slap myself for having a crush on him. For liking him more than a friend. But then there's times like these where I wouldn't have it any other way.

But yet, I always find myself wanting more.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Well guys, here's the long awaited chapter seven. I'm sorry it took so long but I have it up now!

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Well guys, I'm back! I haven't updated this story in such a long time and I'm so sorry about that. My computer was broken, and the internet wouldn't work, but both are fixed now so it's all good! AND I'm in a Harry Potter writing spree so I'm going to be updating this story more often! So, I'm not going to waste anymore of your time with this pointless author's note and carry on with the chapter now. I hope you guys like it!

**A special thanks to: **

Scarlett Angelica Potter

Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape

DietCokeIsMyLife

Luli Cullen

hi

Drkness'sDaughter

grapejuice101

Sorcha

DaIsY dOo

BeautifulMemoryS

JustYourAverageWitch

NicoleLudford

ShapedLikeStars

random person **and**

LianaDare8

**ooOOoo **

I'm wide awake

I'm wide awake

I'm wide awake

Yeah, I was in the dark

I was falling hard

With an open heart

I'm wide awake

How did I read the stars so wrong?

I'm wide awake

And now it's clear to me

That everything you see

Ain't always what it seems

I'm wide awake

Yeah, I was dreaming for so long

I wish I knew then

What I know now

Wouldn't dive in

Wouldn't bow down

Gravity hurts

You made it so sweet

'Til I woke up on

On the concrete

Falling from cloud 9

Crashing from the high

I'm letting go tonight

Yeah, I'm falling from cloud 9

**Wide Awake - **Katy Perry

**ooOOoo**

**Tori's POV**

I was sitting on the couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, working on an overdue potions essay, when Harry and Ron come downstairs from their dormitory with odd looks on their faces. I raise an eyebrow when they sit on either side of me on the couch and stare into the fire with furrowed eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"You'd have... no, you have to see it," Ron says taking my essay and book off my lap and setting it on the floor.

"See what? Ron what's going on?" I ask, panicked. Ron ignores my question, and grabs my wrist, pulling me off the couch and up the stairs with Harry following behind us. He leads me to their dormitory and pushes open the door. There, I see Neville dancing around the room with what seems to be an invisible partner with his eyes closed. He even has his formal shoes on! I tilt my head to the side questioningly, and my eyes widen a bit.

"Well... this... this is just outrageous!" I whisper to the boys, and they nod. "He obviously needs someone to dance with!"

"What?" they whisper in unison. I ignore them and sneak up behind Neville while his back was to me. I tap on his shoulder, and smile when he jumps and turns around. He blushes deeply when he sees Harry, Ron, and I watching him.

"Want a partner to practice with?" I ask.

"Oh... Tori I-," he rambles.

"It's alright Neville, I want to. I need the practice as well," I say, walking over to the radio and turning it on, and finding suitable music. I walk back over to Neville and grin. "Shall we?"

Neville laughs and takes one of my hands and puts the other on my waist. We slowly get accustomed to the rhythm and move to the music.

"We're going to be the best dancers at the ball, I reckon!" I say, laughing. Neville laughs as well, and the song ends. "Well, that was fun."

I look over and see that Ron and Harry were now sitting on their beds. "Anyone else care for a dance?" I ask, and Ron snorts, lying down, and Harry only shakes his head quickly. "Spoil sports," I mutter, and flop down on one of the empty beds. "Oh this bed is soft. I think I may sleep in here tonight."

"That's Seamus' bed," Harry says.

"Really? Well now it's mine. He can have my bed," I say, leaning up on my elbows.

"Yeah, he could if boys could go to the girl's dormitory," Ron says.

"I've never really understood that. Why I can come in here, but you can't go in there. The slide is quite convenient when you're expecting it," I say, remembering a time when a first year was trying to get to the girls' dorm, and Hermione and I weren't expecting the slide to be there and it completely took us both by surprise, ending with us practically crushing the poor unexpecting first year.

The door to the boy's dormitory opens and Seamus and Dean walk in. I immediately pull the covers over my head and lay completely still. Almost as soon as I pull the covers over my head they're ripped off and I look up at Seamus who is looking down at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Evening," I say pleasantly.

"Good evening," he says back.

"I'm sleeping here tonight. You can have my bed if you'd like," I offer.

"With your demon cat? I don't think so," he scoffs, and I quickly sit up in the bed, glaring at him.

"Blossom is not a demon cat! Take it back!" I say, standing up on the bed.

"That cat bit me last week when I sat down. She's a demon cat," he says.

"No she isn't. She's just a good judge of character," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. Seamus stares at me, looking as if he's considering what I said when suddenly he grabs my legs, making me fall over his shoulder. "No! Put me down Seamus!" I shout.

"No. Go to your demon cat!" he says, putting me down outside the 4th year boys' dorm.

"But I want to hang out with you guys!" I whine.

"No, we need man time," he says.

"Man time? I don't see any men in there," I say with a smirk. Seamus stares blankly at me and begins to shut the door. "Wait!" I shout and he stops. "Can I be part of man time?"

"No," he says and shuts the door.

"Mean! You all are so hateful! I hate you all!" I shout, hitting the door.

"Love you too, Tori!" I hear them shout.

"Hermione's cat is a demon cat," I hear Ron say, and I roll my eyes and walk away. I go back down to the common room and gather up my books that were still on the floor by the couch, and go to my dorm. I let my books drop by my bed and I flop down on my bed with a huff.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asks me.

"Boys are mean. They won't let me be part of man time," I complain to her.

"Man time?" she asks.

"Yeah, that's what they called it. But they won't let me join. I was literally carried out of the room," I say, and Blossom jumps up on my bed and crawls into my lap. "Aww, see you're not a demon cat," I coo to her. Hermione looks at me with a questioning expression. "Seamus called Blossom a demon cat."

Hermione scoffs, and goes back to reading her book that she put down when I came into the dorm. I lay back on my bed and Blossom moves to lie on my chest. I smile slightly and stroke her soft head. The silence of the room, along with the comforting purring that was coming from Blossom, slowly makes me drift off to sleep.

**ooOOoo**

I walk through the corridors on my way to meet up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione for a study session in the Great Hall with the other Gryffindor fourth through seventh years, supervised by none other than Professor Snape, when I'm stopped by Cedric.

"Hey," I say with a smile.

"Hello," he says, leaning in and giving me a peck on the lips which I gladly return. "So I want to ask you this before any other bloke has the chance to. Would you do me the honor of being my date to the Yule Ball?"

I feel myself smile widely. "Well I thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"We are," he says with a confused look on his face.

"Well, then it's kind of inevitable that we would go together," I say with a smile.

"So… yes?" he asks with a playful smile. I laugh and wrap my arms around his waist.

"Yes," I say when I feel his arms wrap around my shoulders. "I have to get to class though, so I'll… see you later?"

"Of course," he says, and he leans down and softly presses his lips to mine. I return the kiss and smile softly at him when he pulls away. I turn away and head to the Great Hall again. Nearly everyone is already in the Great Hall, and I head over to where Ron, Harry, and Hermione are seated. I see Professor Snape sneer at me, and I discreetly roll my eyes. I take a seat next to Neville who is seated across from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I smile at them, and they smile back at me.

"What are you guys working on?" I ask.

"Potions essay. Which you need to finish," Hermione says.

"Divination," Ron says.

"Same," Harry says, gesturing to Ron.

"I'm working on Defense against the Dark Arts," Neville chimes in from beside me.

"I guess I'm working on Potions," I say, taking my Potions book out of my book bag. After about thirty minutes of working, I'm nearly done with my Potions essay, and Neville had already left. I glance up when I hear the boys discussing the Yule Ball.

"This is mad. At this rate, we'll be the only ones in our year without dates," Ron says to Harry, resulting in him being slapped over the head by Snape with a folder. I smirk at Ron who sends Snape a death glare when he walks away. "Well, us and Neville."

"But then again, he can take himself," Harry says, earning himself a glare from me. He shrugs apologetically to me, and looks back down at his work.

"It might interest you to know that Neville's already got someone," Hermione says, and my eyes snap to her.

"Neville's got a date? Why didn't I know about this?" I ask loudly, catching the attention of half of the students in the Great Hall, and earning myself a slap from Professor Snape's folder. I growl lowly in my throat and glare at his back.

"Now I'm really depressed," Ron says. The four of us jump when a ball of parchment is tossed in front of Ron. He glances down the table, as do the rest of us, and we see Fred gesture to the parchment. Rob flattens the parchment out. Ron glares at the paper and sets it down. I read the note from it's upside down state, and smirk at the words.

'**Get a move on or all the good ones will have gone!'**

"Well who are you taking then?" Ron whispers down to him. Fred makes a gesture for us to wait, and he throws another piece of parchment at Angelina Johnson.

"Oi, Angelina!" he whispers. She looks over at him with a slight glare.

"What?" she whispers back.

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?" Fred asks, acting out the words in a very comical way.

"Yeah, okay," Angelina answers, smiling at Fred. Fred looks back at Ron and winks at him. Ron sighs and glares again at the note from Fred.

"Hermione, you're a girl," Ron says, and I look sharply at him.

"Very well spotted," Hermione says, causing Harry and I to smirk. I glance at Harry and I see him looking at me. I look over Harry's shoulder and see Snape approaching, and I nod to Snape, causing Harry to glance over his shoulder. I see Ron attempting to act out what Fred did, and Harry tries to get his attention. The attempts were no use because Ron managed to get himself slapped again with Snape's folder.

"It's one thing for a bloke to show up alone, but for a girl it's just sad," Ron says, when Professor Snape walks away. I furrow my eyebrows at him and look back down at my work.

"I won't be going alone because believe it or not someone's asked me," Hermione scoffs to Ron, and stands up. I look at the boys with wide eyes. This is news to me. I watch Hermione hand Professor Snape her essay and he takes it quickly from her hands. She storms back over to us and snatches up her belongings. "And I said yes," Hermione hisses, and storms away.

"Hermione has a date? Why didn't I know about this?" I ask, astonished.

"Why didn't we know about this?" Harry asks, as confused as me.

"Bloody hell," Ron says. "Tori, do you-," Ron starts.

"Cedric," I say, standing up and handing Snape my completed essay. He takes it with a blank look and I walk back over to gather my belongings. "Now, I'm going to go get to the bottom of this Hermione's date issue."

The boys nod and I walk out of the Great Hall. I go to the Common Room in search for Hermione but I find that she isn't there. I check the dorm, and drop off my bag, but she isn't there either. I leave the common room and head to the library, knowing that she's probably there. I walk out through the courtyard, where I see Ron standing by himself, looking like he's in deep thought.

"Ron?" I ask, walking up to him, but he doesn't acknowledge me. I place a hand on his shoulder, startling him. "You alright?"

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. I need to get a date though," he says, looking at a group of girls from Beauxbatons.

"Well… just… go ask then. It's easy," I say, nodding to him.

"Is it?" he asks, unsure.

"Of course. If Neville can do it, so can you," I say, and he straightens up.

"Right. Neville's done it. I'm going to go… ask one of them," Ron says, and confidently walks up to the group of girls. Out of the corner of my eye I see Ginny approach me.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"Ron's trying to get a date for the Yule Ball," I say, casually.

"I can't see this ending positively," she mutters, making me smirk.

"Fleur?" I ask, when I see the girl he approaches. She turns to him with a bit of a polite smile on her face. I see his whole posture drop with his confidence, and I see him open and close his mouth a few times. "Uh-oh."

Ginny and I both take a couple of steps forward.

"Will you go to the ball with me?" Ron shouts in Fleur's face, making her and her friends jump with fright. Ginny and I both clap our hands over our mouths, and watch the horrified expression cross Ron's face. His face turns bright red, and he quickly runs away from the girls. Ginny runs after Ron, and I glance at the girls, sending them a bright smile.

"Boys huh? You'll just have to uh… excuse him… and me. Bye!" I say brightly and run after Ginny and Ron. I quickly find them in a nearby corridor, Ginny kneeling next to Ron who is sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. "Let's uh... Let's go back to the common room, alright Ron."

"Yeah, Ron let's go," Ginny says, holding to Ron's arm. I step forward and grab his other arm, and hauling him to his feet. Ginny and I exchange concerned glances and we slowly make our way to the common room. Once inside, I see Hermione and Harry sitting on the couch talking. They are at our side in an instant when they see Ron.

"What happened to you?" Harry asks, and Ron just stares blankly ahead. 

"He just asked Fleur to the ball," I say and Harry and Hermione's eyes widen.

"What?" Hermione asks, and I nod.

"What did she say?" Harry asks.

"No of course," Hermione says, as if it's obvious. Ron just shakes his head. "She said yes?" Hermione asks, placing her hands over her mouth.

"Don't be silly. There she was just walking by. You know I like it when they walk," he says to Harry who nods. I roll my eyes, and share an exasperated look with Hermione. "I couldn't help it. It just sort of slipped out."

"Actually, he sort of screamed it at her. It was a bit frightening," Ginny supplies. I nod, placing a hand on Ron's shoulder.

"What did you do then?" Harry asks.

"What else? I ran for it. I'm not cut out for this Harry. I don't know what got into me," Ron mumbles pitifully. I look over when the Patil twins say 'hi' to Harry. I keep my confused gaze on Harry when he looks like he's in deep thought.

"Hey!" he calls to them, and takes off after them. Hermione and I glance at each other and shrug. A thought occurs to me and I take her by the arm, along with Ginny and drag them up to our dorm. I look in our dorm and am satisfied when no one is in there. I close the door and magically lock it.

"What is going on Victoria?" Hermione asks, irritated.

"Who are you going to the ball with?" I demand, and she blushes.

"You have a date?" Ginny asks, excitedly.

"Yes, she does. And she's withholding information from her two best girlfriends," I tell Ginny.

"Who is it?" Ginny demands.

"Well…," she hesitates.

"Please?" I whine.

She sighs. "Viktor Krum," she says, and Ginny and I stare at her wide eyed.

"Viktor Krum?" Ginny asks.

"As in, big, tall, buff, attractive, Quidditch player, seeker, Viktor Krum?" I ask.

"Yes," she mutters, walking over to her bed where Blossom and Crookshanks are laying cuddled up to each other. Ginny and I both exchange a large grin.

This Yule Ball is going to be amazing.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Again, I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but like I said, I'm back! Next chapter is the Yule Ball!

**Suggestions?  
>Comments?<strong>

**Leave them in a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Not much of an author's note for this chapter, mostly because I really want to begin writing it. It's the Yule Ball chapter! I've had lots of suggestions and comments on what to write, and I think I finally have it all planned out in my head. I hope you all like it. I'm hoping for a bunch of positive feedback for this chapter! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better. I also don't own the lyrics to Give Me Love. They belong to the famous red-head Ed Sheeran.

A special thanks to:

**Scarlett Angelica Potter**

**grapejuice101**

**ShapedLikeStars**

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**viper marie Cahill**

**Luli Cullen**

**NathalieIyper**

**lightnings pride**

**DaIsY dOo**

**Shaybo27**

**Hi**

**dream lighting****, **and

**shadowslayer23**for the reviews!

**ooOOoo**

Give me love like her, 'cause lately I've been waking up alone, Paint  
>Splattered teardrops on my shirt, Told you I'd let them go, And that I'll<br>Fight my corner, Maybe tonight I'll call ya, after my blood turns into  
>Alcohol, No I just wanna hold ya.<p>

Give a little time to me, or burn this out, We'll play hide and seek to  
>Turn this around, And all I want is the taste that your lips allow, My, my,<br>My, my, oh give me love, my, my, my, my, oh give me love, My, my, my, my,  
>Oh give me love, my, my, my, my, oh give me love, My, my, my, my, oh give<br>Me love.

Give me love like never before, 'cause lately I've been craving more, And  
>It's been a while but I still feel the same, Maybe I should let you go, You<br>Know I'll fight my corner, And that tonight I'll call ya, After my blood is  
>Drowning in alcohol, No I just wanna hold ya.<br>Give a little time to me, or burn this out, We'll play hide and seek to  
>Turn this around, And all I want is the taste that your lips allow, my, my,<br>My, my, Oh give me love, give a little time to me, or burn this out, We'll  
>Play hide and seek to turn this around, And all I want is the taste that<br>Your lips allow, My, my, my, my, oh give me love, my, my, my, my, oh give  
>Me love, my, my, my, my, oh give me love, my, my, my, my, oh give me love,<br>My my, my, my, oh give me love.

Give Me Love – **Ed Sheeran**

**ooOOoo**

**Tori's POV**

Since the Christmas holidays have begun, classes have been canceled. Currently, I was spending some time in the library with Gabe. The library was, of course, his choice… or demand. He says I don't read enough, but I disagree completely. I read constantly when I do homework. Well, when I do my own homework instead of trying to persuade Hermione to let me 'borrow' hers, or copying off of Gabe. Hermione chastises Gabe all the time for condoning my cheating ways, but he always points out that if I didn't use his homework, my grades would slip and I'd probably fail, which isn't completely true. I could do my own homework, and I do a lot of the time, but I'm just lazy.

I was sitting across from Gabe at one of the library's tables, with my head resting on the palm of my left hand, while Gabe reads a book, and I attempt to stay awake. As soon as I begin to doze off, my elbow that was currently propped up on the table is knocked off of the table, causing my head to fall and smack itself against the wooden table top. I look up sharply, rubbing the spot that painfully hit the table, and saw Gabe attempting to hold in a laugh. I glare harshly at him and throw the book that was sitting in front of me, open and unread, at him, hitting him in the chest, causing me to smile in satisfaction.

"So, the Yule Ball," I start, raising my eyebrows at him. "Who are you going with?"

"None of your business," Gabe says, returning his gaze to the book in front of him. I frown in disappointment.

"I'm your sister, and I'm going to find out in a few days. Just tell me," I nearly command, looking at him suspiciously.

"No. As you said, you're going to find out in a few days. You can wait until then," Gabe says, locking eyes with me.

"But I _can't _wait," I plead, stressing the word 'can't'. "I have no patience when it comes to matters such as this."

"I know. It's one of your more annoying traits," Gabe mutters, closing the book in front of him.

"Please tell me. I'll tell you who I'm going with," I try to bargain with him. Gabe rolls his eyes, picking up his book, and the book in front of me. He stands up and starts walking away. I hurriedly stand up and follow him.

"I already know who you're going with. The entire school knows who you're going with," Gabe says, putting his book back in its proper place on the shelf.

"Huh?" I ask, furrowing my brows in confusion.

"Word travels when your dad is an escaped convict," Gabe mutters. "They're always talking about us. Still," Gabe adds, looking me in the eye.

"Then why don't I know who you're going with?" I whine, pouting.

"Because I'm not going with Cedric 'Golden Boy' Diggory," Gabe says, scowling. "The two of you are all anyone's talking about. They have been for a long time. I'm surprised you haven't heard."

I shrug, and watch as he puts my book back on the shelf. "I still don't see your problem with Cedric."

"My problem is that I die a little inside when he puts his hands on you," Gabe says, dramatically, causing me to roll my eyes.

"That was a little too dramatic. Even for you," I say as the two of us begin our journey out of the library.

"Whatever," he grumbles.

"Just tell me who you're going with!" I exclaim.

"No," he says. I make a disappointed sound in the back of my throat as we round a corner. "Tonks?"

My gaze snaps in the direction that Gabe is looking in and sure enough, saw our dear purple haired cousin carrying two large parcels in her hands.

"Tonks!" I exclaim happily. "Make Gabe tell me who he's going to the Yule Ball with."

Tonks and Gabe both roll their eyes, and Tonks smiles.

"Well you two can't go to the ball without something to wear," she says, handing the packages to us. I take the package with my name on it and tilt my head to the side. "Mum picked everything out. I have something to deliver to Dumbledore, so I told her I'd bring these to you. I have to be off though."

Gabe and I smiled widely at her and both gave her a quick hug. "Mum and Remus want pictures," Tonks calls as she walks away.

"How in the bloody hell are we supposed to take pictures?" I scoff.

"With a camera," Gabe answers, cheekily. I narrow my eyes at him, and smack him with my package. He glares at me and hits me with his own package, making me let out a noise of disbelief. The battle between the two of us carries on until our boxes are dented and torn in some spots. It was all in good fun though, seeing as we were both laughing the entire time.

"I have a feeling that Hermione's going to want to see my dress, so I better get going. I'll see you later," I say to Gabe. He nods and sends me a wave, and the two of us head in our different directions. I climb the numerous flights of stairs to the Gryffindor portrait. I give the Fat Lady the password with a smile. The entire Gryffindor house was loads nicer to the Fat Lady since last year when we got stuck with the ever infuriating Sir Cadogan. "I have my dress!" I announce loudly to the occupants of the common room when I walk inside.

"Oh! I want to see!" Hermione cries, standing up from the armchair she was sitting in.

"Me too," Ginny says, standing as well. I lead the two girls up to the fourth year girls' dorm.

"What happened to the box?" Hermione asks, referring to the dents and tears.

"Gabe and I were hitting each other with our boxes," I say simply, and Hermione rolls her eyes. "He has a date, and he refuses to tell me who it is," I say, narrowing my eyes as I take the lid off the box. I gasp softly as I pull out the dress.

The dress is strapless, and a beautiful color of scarlet red. It's an A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline which is beautifully embellished with beads. It has a corseted top, and is pleated on the side of the floor length skirt. Also, in the box, is a pair of red matching heels.

"It's beautiful," Hermione says her eyes wide as she looks over the dress. Ginny nods her agreement, smiling at the dress.

"Andromeda has amazing taste in dresses," is the only thing I can mutter.

**ooOOoo**

"Victoria Rose Black! We have to go get ready **now**," Hermione calls for the sixth time. I'm currently outside in the middle of a massive snowball fight and my team is winning epically. It's Fred, George, Neville, Seamus, and I, against Harry, Dean, Ron, Gabe, and Lee Jordan.

"Okay!" I call, hurdling a round of snowballs at Harry and Ron who were currently ganging up on me.

"Hermione, there's still three hours before the ball. It doesn't take that long to get ready," Ron says. He would have said more, had Fred not hit him in the face with a fairly large snowball, sending the both of us into a round of loud laughter. Our laughter was quickly cut off when I was hit in the stomach, and Fred was hit in the chest by two snowballs made my Harry and Dean.

"It does for us and will take even longer if you don't come now Tori," Hermione says, sternly.

"But if I leave the teams will be uneven," I announce, followed by a round of agreements from my team members.

"I don't care," Hermione says, marching up to me, grabbing my arm, and literally dragging me away from the war zone. I snicker quietly into my hand when Hermione is hit in the back by a snowball. She turns around quickly, glaring furiously at the group of boys who all paused, looking around innocently. Hermione rolls her eyes, and continues dragging me away, grumbling under her breath.

"It won't take me three hours to get ready. Why did I have to leave now?" I whine to Hermione, letting my arm go limp in her grasp.

"Because we have a lot to do. Shower, hair, makeup, and getting into our dresses," Hermione lists off, and speaks the password to the Fat Lady.

"That won't take three hours," I say with a small scowl. Hermione ignores me and drags me to our dorm, keeping a level eye on me when she lets go of my wrist incase I dare try to escape and rejoin the boys. The sound of the shower running makes me sigh, knowing that I could be outside having fun instead of waiting for Lavender or Parvarti to come out so Hermione and I could take our showers.

I sluggishly walk to my bed and flop down on the mattress, frightening Blossom and Crookshanks who both jump up and hiss at me. I scowl at the two felines who jump off of my bed and onto Hermione's. I swear, those cats are better friends than I could ever be with anyone.

"Those two seem to share a substantial amount of time together," Hermione says, observing the two cats.

"Ugh, must you use such big words all the time?" I mumble playfully, making Hermione roll her eyes. I glance over at the door of our dormitory when it opens and am partially surprised to see Ginny standing there in a robe, with a bag in one hand, and a dress in the other. I raise an eyebrow, and tilt my head to the side a bit.

"Oh good you're here. After Tori and I shower, we'll all start getting ready," Hermione says when she sees Ginny.

"You're going, Ginny?" I ask.

"Yeah," Ginny says, blushing a bit.

"Who are you going with?" I ask, curiously.

"I can't say," Ginny says, and I narrow my eyes.

"Why not?" I ask.

"I promised it would be a surprise," Ginny says simply, laying her dress on my bed.

"Do you know who she's going with?" I ask Hermione. Hermione shakes her head, pulling a few items out of her trunk. I cross my arms with a huff. "What's with people and their secret dates?"

"Oh, relax Tori. You'll find out soon enough. Now go shower," Hermione orders when Parvarti walks out of the bathroom. I snatch up my robe from the end of my bed and head to the shower, grumbling under my breath the entire time.

**ooOOoo**

It's nearly time for the ball, it starts in thirty minutes and Ginny and I are waiting for Hermione to come out of the washroom. I cleverly took this time to interrogate Ginny about who she's going to the ball with.

"What house is he in?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at the girl in her green dress.

"I can't tell you," she says with an eye roll, sitting down on my bed. She attempts to lie back, but I rush forward and grab her wrist.

"You can't lie down. I spent twenty minutes on your hair. If you ruin it, I'll make it all disappear," I threaten, and Ginny glares at me. I glare back, and our glare off is interrupted by Hermione coming out of the washroom in her dress. Ginny and I both gasp a bit and smile widely.

"You look incredible Hermione!" I exclaim. I rush over to her and check her hair, pushing in a few pins that came loose when she was putting on her dress.

"Turn around," Hermione demands of me. I feel her checking my hair, which she had done up in a half up-half down style after curling my wavy hair into loose spirals. We each have on makeup that compliments our dresses.

"Oh, we all look great. We have to go though," Ginny says, standing up. I pat Blossom and Crookshanks on the head and exit the dormitory with Ginny and Hermione. We make our way out of the common room and down the several flights of stairs from the Gryffindor tower. We finally reach the last staircase leading to the main floor of the building, in front of the Great Hall. There we find the Patil twins, Harry, Ron, Cedric, Gabe, and Viktor Krum. Cedric, Viktor, and Gabe are the first to spot us, almost simultaneously.

I smile softly when I see Cedric's eyes widen slightly and a bright smile appears on his face. He walks forward as I reach the end of the stairs and wraps an arm around my waist.

"You look incredibly beautiful… that's a vast understatement," Cedric whispers in my ear, making me blush like an idiot. I smile at him and he leans down and kisses my lips softly, which I readily respond to. Suddenly, a flash goes off and Cedric and I pull away from each other. I frown when I see a smiling Collin Creevy lowering a camera from his eye. I raise an eyebrow at him, and his smile drops.

"Y-your brother hired me to take pictures before the ball," he explains nervously. I look over at Gabe and my eyes widen when I see him with his arm around Ginny's waist.

I should have known.

I shrug a bit at Collin, and I look to my other friends and see Ron gaping openly at Hermione, making me chuckle a bit. Then I look at Harry, who is staring openly at me. I smile a bit at him when we lock eyes, and he smiles back, although it looks a bit forced. I can't help but notice how handsome he looks in his dress robes. Almost as handsome as Cedric is to me. I shake those thoughts from my mind and look back to Cedric.

"Shall we go in?" I ask, and Cedric shakes his head.

"The champions and their dates are to start the opening dance," he says, and I raise an eyebrow.

"So… I get to make a fool out of myself in front of everybody?" I ask, tilting my head to the side a bit. Cedric chuckles and wraps both of his arms around my waist.

"I'm sure you aren't that bad," Cedric tries to reassure me.

"We'll see. Just don't be too angry with me over any of your broken toes," I warn, and he chuckles more, and kisses my cheek.

"You'll do fine," Cedric tells me. Suddenly, loud music begins to play and Cedric guides me to line up with the other champions and their dates. He holds out his arm to me with a grin, and I smile back, and loop my arm through his. The two of us are third in line after Hermione and Viktor. All of us walk in a line to the large open space in the Great Hall.

Cedric takes my waist and grabs one of my hands, and I let my free hand rest on his shoulder. I take a deep breath and he smiles at me.

'Relax,' he mouths, as the music starts momentarily. I nod a bit and he lightly begins to guide me through the steps of the dance when the music starts again. Cedric keeps his eyes locked on mine the entire time with a small smile on his face. Soon enough, the first dance was over and I let out a large breath of relief when everybody claps for the band.

"No broken toes," Cedric remarks, and I grin. "You did great."

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Not a very good place to stop but I want to stop this chapter before it gets too long. The second part of the Yule Ball will be up soon, so keep your eyes open!

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **And here's part two of the Yule Ball! I'm sorry it's taken me so long. I was just very engrossed with my Batman story. But I've got that completed now. I'm working on a sequel for it, but I've also been watching and reading a lot of Harry Potter, so I'm really into it right now.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better. I also don't own the lyrics to the AMAZING song On The Way Down. They fully belong to Ryan Cabrera.

A special thanks to:

**dream lighting**

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape**

**NathalieIyper**

**grapejuice101**

**Shaybo27**

**Ali  
><strong>**Scarlett Angelica Potter**

**Hi**

**ShapedLikeStars**

**DaIsY dOo**

**silverwolfloststar**

**Luli Cullen****, **and

**danceegirl92**

**ooOOoo**

Sick and Tired of this world  
>There's no more air<br>Trippin' over myself  
>Goin' nowhere<br>Waiting  
>Suffocating<br>No direction  
>And I took a dive<p>

And on the way down  
>I saw you<br>And you saved me  
>From myself<br>And I won't forget  
>The way you loved me<br>On the way down  
>I almost fell right through<br>But I held onto you

I've been wondering why  
>It's only me<br>Have you always been inside  
>Waiting to breathe<br>It's alright  
>Sunlight<br>On my face  
>I wake up and yeah, I'm alive<p>

'cause on the way down  
>I saw you<br>And you saved me  
>From myself<br>And I won't forget  
>The way you loved me<br>On the way down  
>I almost fell right through<br>But I held onto you

On The Way Down** – Ryan Cabrera**

**ooOOoo**

***Tori's POV***

As Cedric and I finish dancing to one of the Weird Sister's songs, we cheer loudly as the song ends. Both of us are breathing heavily, and we smile at each other. Cedric leans down.

"How about I get us some drinks?" he asks, and I nod.

"I'll be over there," I say, pointing over where Ron and Harry are sitting. Cedric nods and smiles at me, then walks away to get drinks. I sigh a bit and walk over to where Harry and Ron are with the Patil twins.

"_Your_ brother is here with _my _sister," Ron says to me, glaring at the floor.

"So?" I ask, and he grumbles something incomprehensible. I shrug a bit, and sit down next to Parvati. A boy who looks to be the age of sixteen comes up to us and extends his hand to Parvati.

"May I have your arm?" he asks, in a thick Bulgarian accent.

"Arm, leg," she starts, and glances at Harry, "I'm yours," she says, taking his hand. The boy leads her out onto the dance floor, and I smirk a bit and move closer to Harry.

"He stole your date," I point out, and Harry only shrugs.

"Are you going to ask me to dance or not?" Padma asks Ron.

"No," Ron says, making Padma huff and walk away.

"You two are hopeless," I mutter to them. "This is a ball; you are supposed to be having fun."

They continue to sit in silence, and I roll my eyes. I smile brightly when Hermione finds us.

"Hot isn't it. Viktor's gone to get drinks. Care to join us?" Hermione asks, and I open my mouth to respond, but is cut off by Ron.

"No we'd not care to join you and Viktor," Ron says, sneering Viktor's name. Hermione, Harry, and I all raise our eyebrows, looking at Ron.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Hermione voices the question on all of our minds.

"He's a Durmstrang. You're fraternizing with the enemy," Ron says, simply.

"The enemy? Who was it wanting his autograph? Besides, the whole point of the tournament is international magical cooperation, to make friends," Hermione states, placing her hands on her hips.

"I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind," Ron grumbles, and Hermione glares at him before walking off.

"Honestly Ron, you have no tact," I say to him while glaring. Ron simply crosses his arms and turns away from Harry and I. Harry and I glance at each other and shake our heads. I look across the floor to see if I can spot Cedric, but I'm surprised when I see him dancing with Cho Chang. I frown a bit, but I surprisingly feel no jealousy.

Why am I not jealous? He's my boyfriend.

I frown a bit in thought, but I'm broken out of my thoughts when Harry nudges me. I look at him questioningly, and he looks sympathetic.

"You alright?" he asks.

"Actually, yeah. I'm fine," I say, completely honest. Hmm… I'll have to talk to Hermione about this later.

Minutes later, the Weird Sister's begin to play a slow song and I glance up at Harry when he stands. He extends his hand to me and I look at it questioningly. I slap his hand, giving him a low-five when he doesn't say anything.

"Merlin Tori," Harry says, laughing a bit. I frown and look up at him.

"What? Do you want a handshake or something?" I ask, and he rolls his eyes.

"Dance with me," Harry says, and I smile a bit.

"You actually want to dance? You don't just want to sit here and do nothing like you have been since the opening dance?" I ask, taking his hand.

"Well, you were the one to practice with me from the very beginning. It's only right that we get a real dance together," Harry says, and I shrug a bit.

"I suppose you're right," I say, and Harry leads me out onto the floor.

**ooOOoo**

***3rd Person POV***

Across the floor from Victoria and Harry, Cedric and Cho are dancing happily. Cedric glances over at his girlfriend dancing with Harry Potter, and he frowns a bit, but hurt, and jealousy never comes. He furrows his eyebrows for a second, but straightens out his face and looks at Cho who is smiling up at him. Cedric smiles back, but can't shake the small feeling of guilt that wells up in the pit of his stomach.

A few couples away from Cedric and Cho, Gabriel stands with Ginny, glaring daggers at the back of Cedric's head.

"Poor Tori," Ginny says, and Gabe glances at her.

"I'll kill him," Gabe says, angrily and starts toward Cedric.

"Hang on," Ginny says, grabbing Gabe's arm. "She doesn't look too upset about it," she says, pointing at Tori who is smiling and laughing while dancing with Harry. Gabe frowns a bit, and looks down at Ginny. He grins and holds his hand out to her.

"Shall we?" Gabe asks Ginny, who giggles and takes his hand. Gabe twirls Ginny once and smiles down at her, with his famous 'Black' smile that Ginny finds that Tori owns as well.

'Must be in the genes,' Ginny thinks, smiling back at him as Gabe puts a hand on her waist.

Across the floor from Gabe and Ginny, Harry twirls Tori around playfully.

"You know, you're not that bad of a dancer," Harry says.

"Why thank you. You're a pretty fair dancer yourself when you're having fun with it," Tori says back.

"What does that mean?" he asks.

"Please. I saw how tense you were when you were dancing with Parvati," Tori says, chuckling.

"Is that so?" Harry asks, grinning, and Tori nods.

"You know I'm right, I'm always right," Tori says, and Harry scoffs.

"Then why do you always have to copy your brother's homework?" Harry asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I never said I wasn't lazy," Tori says, and they both laugh.

**ooOOoo**

After around thirty minutes, everyone begins to leave the ball. Tori heads for the stairs leading out of the Great Hall corridor, but stops when she hears her name being called.

"Tori, wait up," she hears, and turns around. She smiles a bit when she sees Cedric jogging to her. "Can we talk?" he asks, and she nods a bit.

"Yeah, I think we should," Tori says, and Cedric takes her hand and pulls her through another doorway.

"About what happened earlier-," he starts but Tori cuts him off.

"You don't have to explain. You like her," Tori says, knowingly. Cedric frowns a bit and opens his mouth to respond. "It's okay."

Cedric sighs and rubs his forehead. "Tori… I do really like you, but….," he trails off.

"You like her more?" Tori asks, and Cedric hesitantly nods. "Like I said, it's okay. When I saw you two dancing… I surprisingly didn't even feel jealous."

"Yeah, when I saw you and Potter dancing together… you looked so happy," Cedric says, and Tori smiles a bit and looks at the floor. "I didn't feel jealous or upset at all."

"Maybe that's a sign that we should just be… friends," Tori says, and Cedric looks at her sadly. He chuckles a bit after a few moments.

"Harry's really a lucky guy," Cedric says, and Tori frowns.

"What do you mean?" Tori asks.

"He's getting a great girl," Cedric clarifies, and Tori blinks.

"What? No… Harry…. Harry and I are just friends. Best friends," Tori says, shaking her head. Cedric chuckles again, and puts a hand on her shoulder and pulls her into a hug.

"We can still be friends right?" Cedric asks.

"Of course," Tori says, smiling. Tori pulls back from the hug and sends Cedric a smile. He smiles back and slowly walks away, leaving Tori alone. She sighs heavily, and is surprised when Harry turns the corner when Cedric leaves. He sends her a hesitant smile, that she returns.

"Are you alright?" he asks. Tori nods, and tenses a bit.

"How much of that did you hear?" she asks.

"Enough to know that you two aren't together anymore," he says.

"So all of it?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he says, and Tori laughs.

"I'm fine. I'm the one who suggested it, after all," Tori says, and Harry nods. He opens his mouth to say more but is cut off when the two of them hear the unpleasant sound of Ron and Hermione arguing.

"You know the solution then don't you?" Hermione asks Ron loudly.

"Go on," Ron says, skeptically.

"Next time there's a ball pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does, and not as a last resort," Hermione practically shouts, causing Harry and Tori to step out into the corridor.

"Well that's… that's completely off the point," Ron says, and notices the pair behind Hermione. "Harry, Tori," he says, and Hermione turns around sharply.

"Where have to two been?" Hermione asks. Tori and Harry both open their mouths to respond but Hermione cuts them off. "Never mind! Off to bed, all of you," Hermione says, and Ron and Harry start up the stairs.

"They get scary when they get older," Ron mutters loud enough for Hermione to hear, and Hermione spins around quickly to face the boys.

"Ron, you spoil everything!" Hermione screams at Ron, and sits down on the stairs, tears rolling down her face. Tori looks at her best girlfriend, and sits down next to her, putting her arm across Hermione's shoulders. Hermione leans her head on Tori's shoulder, and sobs quietly.

"You know how Ron is. You know he doesn't mean half of the things he says," Tori says soothingly.

"I just don't understand why he's only like this to me. He didn't care that you went with Cedric. He didn't even say anything about Gabe showing up with Ginny," Hermione says between sobs.

"I think I know why," Tori mutters quietly.

"What?" Hermione asks.

"Nothing. Just forget what Ron says. You know he's just going to act like nothing happened tomorrow, and you should do the same. You had fun with Viktor right?" Tori asks, and Hermione lifts her head from Tori's shoulder.

"Yeah. I did," Hermione says with a small smile. Tori smiles back.

"Then that's what matters. Who cares about what Ron says. You remember all of the idiotic things he's done in the last three years, and he'll only do more," Tori says.

"Oh, I suppose you're right," Hermione says, and wipes the tears off of her cheeks. Tori smiles, and stands up, holding her hand out for Hermione to take. Hermione takes her hand and Tori helps her stand up.

"Let's go to bed," Tori says, picking up Hermione's shoes for her.

"Alright," Hermione says, taking her shoes from Tori's hands. "Thank you, Tori."

"It's nothing," Tori says honestly, giving her best friend a sincere smile.

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Eugh, I'm disappointed with the word count for this chapter. Oh well. I'll write more next time. But, nawwwww, Hermione and Tori friend time at the end. I love writing their scenes, simply because I love Hermione's character. I'm sorry about ending Cedric and Tori's relationship, but I thought it was essential for later on in the story. I hope you Tori/Cedric shippers can forgive me. Besides, that gives Harry more room to move in you know?

New chapter will be up soon!

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **New chapter time! I'm really looking forward to getting to the second task, and well…to the end of this story because then I get to write Order of the Phoenix! That's always a fun book to read, and fun movie to watch. Anyway, enough of this. I was a little disappointed with the amount of reviews I got last chapter. Maybe more this chapter? I really love getting feedback, positive or negative, to let me know what you think and if you're still interested. Also, I think I'm going to finish up this story in 3rd person. 1st person is getting increasingly difficult for me to write because I'm currently writing a very successful story in 3rd person…and well… yeah. 3rd person is just easier to write in. But anyhow… I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better. I also don't own the song Treasure. It belongs to the wonderful band Flyleaf.

**Reviewers and Replies**

**grapejuice101****: **Thank you so much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one. :)

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape****: **Thank you for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you like this one as well. :)

**lightnings pride****: **There will be lots of Sirius/Tori/Gabe bonding time at the end of this story, and a bunch in the next story. :) Thank you so much for your review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

**Ali: **Hah, yep. Gotta make room for Harry. There honestly may not be much romance between the two of them until the next story or in their sixth year. I haven't officially decided yet. I should really change the genre of the last story… Hmm. Anyway, thank you so much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one. :)

**Hi: **Aw, thank you. :) I'm really loving your 'How I Met Your Mother' reference. At least… I hope you were intentionally doing so… Anyway! Even if you weren't, you made a 'How I Met Your Mother' reference! Congrats! Hah, anyway, thank you for your review. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

**Luli Cullen****: **They sure do! Thank you so much for your review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one. :)

**ShapedLikeStars: **Well good! I am too. Gotta love Harry. :) Anyway, thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one.

**ooOOoo**

Can I tell you a story  
>As we dance while the sun starts to bleed<br>Song of songs love is calling  
>Daughter wake up from your sleep<p>

Refined I'll become the most dazzling precious treasure  
>I'll be treasured over all the earth<p>

Bearing the gift of a new heart  
>Patience ablaze<br>I'm slowly burning

Refined I'll become the most dazzling precious treasure  
>I'll be treasured over all the earth<br>Refined I'll become the most dazzling precious treasure  
>I'll be treasured over all the earth<p>

I am in awe and in shock  
>I'm in love and given away<br>I'm reserved with these words

Treasure – **Flyleaf**

**ooOOoo**

Early Christmas morning Tori pries her eyes open and pulls the curtains around her bed to the side to look out the window. She smiles and stands up. She takes a deep breath.

"Happy Christmas, girls!" she shouts, and smiles widely at the two muffled groans she receives from Lavender and Parvati. She beams at Hermione when she pulls her bed hangings open. As soon as the curtains are pulled from Hermione's bed, Blossom shoots out, off of Hermione's bed and onto Tori's. "Hey girl," Tori coos to the white cat, patting her on the head.

"Merry Christmas, Tori," Hermione says, stretching her arms above her head.

"Merry Christmas, Hermione," Tori says, flopping back down on her bed and digging into the small pile of presents at the foot of her bed. Tori blindly grabs a random present and tears open the messy wrapping that could only have been done by Ron. Tori barks out a laugh when she sees the exact same Chudley Cannons shirt that she purchased for Ron.

"What?" Hermione asks.

"I bought this exact same shirt for Ron," Tori says, and Hermione chuckles, amused. Tori opens her presents slowly, receiving a new scarf from Remus, the normal Weasley jumper from Molly and Arthur, which is red with a blue 'V' on the front this year along with a bit of homemade cookies, the regular Honeyduke's sweets from Seamus, Dean, and Neville, from Harry she received a new charm for her bracelet in the shape of a paw print. She, like last year, receives an unmarked package which now she automatically knows is from her father. She opens the small box and smiles at the small beautiful red rose shaped earrings. Inside the box is a small note that says "For my beautiful Victoria Rose. Merry Christmas, love." From her twin, she receives a simple chain with a Ravenclaw charm attached to it. Tori narrows her eyes at the necklace, but chuckles all the same. From the twins she receives a bag of Zonko's products, and finally from Hermione she receives a new beautiful Eagle quill.

"Thank you for the new quill Hermione. It's lovely, and I really needed a new one," Tori says, gratefully to Hermione.

"You're welcome. And thank you for the Jane Austen novels! I've wanted to read these," Hermione says, smiling at her best friend.

"You're welcome. I remember you saying that you wanted to read them," Tori says, changing out of her pajamas, and into her new black Chudley Cannons shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of woolen socks. "I'm going to go to the Common Room," Tori says, and Hermione nods.

"I'll come too," she says, and changes into a similar outfit to Rosalie's, except instead of a Chudley Cannons t-shirt, she puts on the jumper that Mrs. Weasley made for her. The girls smile at each other and head down to the Common Room. On the way down to the Common Room, Tori attaches the new charm from Harry to her bracelet. Once down the stairs, Tori bursts out laughing, catching the attention of nearly everyone in the common room. It seems that Ron had the same idea as Tori and changed into his Chudley Cannons shirt as well. Ron laughs as well, seeing Tori wearing the shirt that he bought for her.

"Great minds think alike, I suppose," Ron says, and Tori nods her agreement while Hermione snorts behind them. Ron and Tori both narrow their eyes at Hermione, who moves over to sit on the couch. Tori sits in the armchair beside the one that Harry is sitting in.

"Thank you for the new charm, Harry," Tori says, and Harry nods with a smile.

"Thanks for the copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, I've only been able to read some of Ron's," Harry says, and Tori nods in understanding.

"You're welcome. I know that his has a bunch of pages missing," Tori says, ignoring the noise of protest from Ron. Tori listens to the random murmurings from around the Common Room while she subconsciously plays with her charm bracelet.

"Are you going to see Cedric today, Tori?" Hermione asks Tori from the couch, and Harry glances warily at Tori, but to his surprise she looks completely indifferent to the matter.

"No," she says, and Hermione gives her a confused look. "We broke up last night."

"What? Goodness, Tori are you alright?" Hermione asks, looking at Tori sympathetically.

"I'm fine. I'm actually kind of the one who broke up with him," Tori says, glancing at Harry who is looking intently at her. Cedric's words run through Tori's head and she looks away from Harry quickly, looking back at her bracelet.

"I saw him dancing with Cho at the ball last night," Ron points out, looking at Tori. "Is that what it was about?"

"Kind of. He just likes her more than me. It's alright," Tori says, and her three best friends look at her doubtfully. "Really. I'm fine!"

"If you say so," Ron says, and Tori narrows her eyes at him.

"I do say so," Tori says. The four of them sit in silence for a bit until Tori stands up suddenly. "I'm going to go to the library," she says, and Ron and Harry look at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"You never go to the library," Ron says, and Tori rolls her eyes.

"Sure I do," Tori says. "To see Gabe."

"Oh, that makes sense then," Ron says, and Tori glowers at him, and goes back up to her dorm. She puts on her new Weasley jumper and her pink trainers. A moment later, Hermione appears in their dorm. She walks over and pulls on a pair of shoes and Tori looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I need to go to the library as well," she says, simply.

"Ah, I see," Tori says, and turns to the door.

"Tori," Hermione calls, and Tori looks at her. "Are you sure that you're alright with your break up with Cedric?"

"Hermione, really, I'm fine. I promise," Tori says, shooting her friend a reassuring smile.

**ooOOoo**

The weeks turn to months, and finally the week of the second task emerges, and Harry couldn't be more apprehensive if he tried. Tori, Ron, and Hermione all try their hardest to reassure him that everything will be fine, but he won't hear any of it.

Currently, Tori, Harry, and Hermione are all taking a walk, and are all chatting happily until Harry reveals that he hasn't figured out the clue that his golden egg supposedly gives. Hermione is immediately flustered by this news.

"Harry, you told us you'd figured out the egg weeks ago. The task is two days from now!" Hermione exclaims, and Harry rolls his eyes and glances at Tori.

"Really? I had no idea. I suppose Viktor's already figured it out," Harry murmurs, bitterly.

"I wouldn't know, we didn't actually talk about the tournament. Actually we didn't really talk at all, Viktor's more of a physical being," Hermione says, making Tori and Harry grin widely.

"Oh, ho, ho!" Tori says, and Harry bursts out laughing, Tori joining in shortly after. Hermione blushes and smacks Tori on the arm, and she stops laughing, holding her arm, making a dramatic face. Hermione rolls her eyes while fighting a smile.

"I just mean he's not particularly loquacious. Mostly, he watches me study. It's a bit annoying, actually. You are trying to figure this egg out, aren't you?" Hermione asks, and the smiles fall off of Harry and Tori's faces.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asks, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"I mean these tasks are supposed to test you, in the most brutal way they're almost cruel. And um…" Hermione trails off, glancing at Tori. They exchange a look behind Harry's back, and look back at Harry's face. "I'm scared for you. You got by the dragon mostly on nerve, I'm not sure it's going to be enough this time."

"That makes two of us, Harry," Tori says, putting a hand on Harry's arm. Harry gives her a small smile and puts his hand on hers.

"Hey, Potter!" Cedric calls out, seeing Harry, Tori, and Hermione on the bridge. He jogs up to them, and Harry begins walking away.

"Cedric," he says, moving away from the girls. Tori watches the two boys converse, giving Hermione random glances. Soon enough, Cedric turns around and walks away. He slows down a bit as his eyes catch Tori's. Tori sends Cedric a small smile and walks away, over to Harry.

"What did he say?" Tori asks as she and Hermione arrive by Harry.

"He said to take my egg to the Prefect's bathroom and take a bath with it," Harry says, and Tori raises an eyebrow. She looks at Hermione who seems to be trying to figure out what to do in her head. "I'll see you guys later," Harry says, giving the girls a smile and walking away.

**ooOOoo**

The next night, Ron, Hermione, Gabe, and Tori all sit in the Gryffindor common room a couple of hours before curfew, waiting for Harry to return to tell them what he found out from the egg. Gabe and Hermione sit on the couch, each reading a book, while Tori and Ron play a game of Exploding Snap. Ron laughs loudly as one of the cards explodes when Tori isn't expecting it, causing her to fall backwards. She sits back up and glares at Ron, who immediately closes his mouth, but the grin stays on his face.

"Pretty jumpy, huh, sister?" Gabe asks, not taking his eyes off of his book. Tori narrows her eyes and reaches over and slaps the book out of her brother's hands. "Hey!" Gabe exclaims, glaring at his sister.

"Didn't have the best hold on that book, huh, brother?" Tori asks cheekily, grinning at Gabe.

"Shut up, Tori," Gabe grumbles, picking the book back up, and flips through the pages, trying to find his place again. The four of them look sharply over at the portrait hole when it opens. Harry walks in, his hair slightly damp, and holding his golden egg tucked under one arm. They all stand up when Harry enters, and look at him with questioning eyes.

Harry calmly explains to them how he put the egg under the water of the bathtub, and instead of the insufferable screeching sound, the egg emitted a lovely singing sound.

"What were the words to the song?" Hermione asks.

"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground, an hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took," Harry says.

"Cannot sing above the ground?" Ron asks.

"Sounds like mer-people to me," Tori says, and everyone gives her an astounded look. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Well…," Hermione trails off.

"You don't really try in school. We're just surprised by your moment of intelligence," Gabe says, not holding back, smirking at his sister who slaps his shoulder.

"You all act as if I'm completely stupid," Tori mutters.

"Anyway," Hermione cuts in, giving Gabe and Tori both a look that silences the two of them. The twins give each other a glance, and returns their attention back to Hermione. "To figure this out we'll need to go-," Hermione is cut off.

"To the library," Tori, Harry, and Ron all say simultaneously.

"Right," Hermione says slowly, glaring at her three friends. Four out of the five of them all head to the portrait hole, and notice when the fifth one isn't following. Tori turns around and sees that Gabe is distracted by Ginny who'd just come down the stairs from her dorm. She grins a bit, and ushers her friends out of the Common Room. The four of them make their way to the library. Once in the library, they move towards the back, and begin flipping through books before Hermione begins her questioning.

"Harry, tell me again," Hermione says as Tori sits next to Harry at a table.

"Come seek us where our voices sound," Harry starts.

"The Black Lake, that's obvious," Hermione says, waving her hand.

"An hour long you'll have to look," Harry says.

"Again, obvious, though I must admit potentially problematic," Hermione says, and Ron, Tori, and Harry all look at Hermione incredulously.

"Honestly, Hermione," Tori says, exasperatedly.

"Potentially problematic? When was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour, Hermione?" Harry asks, shaking his head.

"Look Harry, we can do this. The four of us can figure this out," Hermione says, reassuringly. The four of them look to the right of them when they hear a loud clunking sound. Tori grits her teeth when Mad-Eye Moody appears by their table. She hasn't liked Moody since their first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson.

"Hate to break up this scholar session but Professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office. Not you Potter, just Black and Granger," Moody says, adding the last part to Harry when he begins to get up. Hermione and Tori give glances at the boys, then to each other, but nevertheless comply and slowly move past Moody.

The girls exit the library, walking towards McGonagall's office, Hermione unsurely, and Tori casually.

"What do you think she wants with us? Do you think we're in trouble?" Hermione asks, nervously, her hands beginning to shake.

"Doubt it. From what I've learned from experience, and from Fred and George, when you're in trouble, Minnie comes to you," Tori says, waving away Hermione's concerns. Hermione glowers at Tori when she calls Professor McGonagall 'Minnie'.

"You shouldn't call her that, Tori. It's disrespectful," Hermione says, and Tori stops in her tracks, looking at Hermione as if she's grown two heads.

"When have I ever cared about being respectful?" Tori asks, and Hermione looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Good point," Hermione says as they reach Professor McGonagall's office. Hermione respectfully knocks on the door respectfully. The girls faintly hear McGonagall's voice telling them to come in. As they enter, they're surprised to see Cho Chang, Gabrielle Delacour, Madame Maxime, Igor Karkaroff, and Professor Dumbledore in her office.

"Ah, Miss Black, and Miss Granger," Dumbledore says, waving the girls inside. "I trust the two of you are well this evening?"

"Yes, Professor," Hermione answers immediately.

"As well, as well can be, sir," Tori quips, and Dumbledore smiles, amused. The girls venture father into the room, letting the door close behind them. Cho gives a hesitant smile to Tori, which to Cho's surprise, she returns kindly.

"Now, I'm sure the four of you are wondering why I've assembled you here," Dumbledore says, and the four girls nod. "As you know, the second task of the Triwizard Tournament is tomorrow afternoon. For those of you who don't know, the task requires each champion to retrieve a treasure they greatly care for from the bottom of the Black Lake. Said treasure will be carefully guarded by the mer-people that reside in the Black Lake. You four, if you should accept, will be the champions' treasures. Miss Chang for Mister Diggory, young Miss Delacour for the elder Miss Delacour, Miss Granger for Mister Krum, and finally Miss Black for Mister Potter."

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **The second task during the next chapter! I'll be updating soon! I hope you all liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it!

New outfits for Tori and Gabe on Polyvore! Link on my profile.

**Suggestions?**

**Comments?**

**Questions?**

**Leave them in a review. I'll be responding to reviews from now on like I did during this chapter. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Chapter twelve everyone! I'm really excited, like I've said before, to finish up this story so I can get on with the Order of the Phoenix, where I have a couple of surprises planned. :) So I'm going to stop boring you with this and get on with the chapter! Thank you all for your excellent reviews, and continued support for this series.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better. I also don't own the song Best of Me. It solely belongs to the wonderful band The Letter Black. Beautiful song. :)

**Reviewers and Replies:**

**grapejuice101: **Hmm…well, you'll find out in this chapter. :) Thank you for your review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

**Scarlett Angelica Potter: **I know, I can't wait to start writing it. I can't wait for more Sirius! Thank you so much for your review. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one. :)

**dream lighting: **I know for a fact that the two of them won't be getting together during this story. Possibly the next story, or the one after. They'll be together before the Deathly Hallows for sure though. :) Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape: **That's a great suggestion. I may use it. Thank you so much for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one :)

**Luli Cullen: **Thank you so much for your review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one :)

**DaIsY dOo: **Thank you for your review! :) I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

**Ali: **Thank you for your review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one :)

**randomreader19: **Thank you for your review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one :)

**ShapedLikeStars: **Oh, I know. I couldn't just leave Tori out of it! She's far too important to Harry. Thank you for the review. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one. :)

**Hi: **Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you like my story. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**xCrazyxBandxNerdx****: **Thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one just as much.

**zaria d. idonia****: **Well, since your life depends on this story, then I simply must update as soon as possible! I simply loved reading your review! It made me feel so great as a writer. I hope you like this chapter just as much as all the others! Thank you so much for your wonderful review!

**Guest: **Thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one just as much.

**MizzzzPotter3: **I know, and I am SO sorry. I've been super mega busy. But I'm back now, and I shall update as much as I possibly can. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

**ooOOoo**

If I could find yesterday  
>I would take You back to where I'm coming from<br>Cause You can see the way  
>All these scars have kept me running<br>And chasing down the past  
>But I'm not done, I'm turning back<p>

I swear, You're the only reason I keep breathing  
>I swear, You keep on giving me the reason to keep believing<br>Finally I'm worth it, though I'm not perfect  
>It still feels right, and I keep on giving<br>Trying to make a difference, in my life  
>But I know another way to show<br>Everything I can be for You  
>You're all that I'll ever need<br>I'll give you the Best of Me

If I could read tomorrow's mind  
>I would know exactly where You're taking me<br>If I'm going to slip away  
>Or if I stay and give You all my trust<br>You will keep me safe  
>I know You won't let me fade<p>

I swear, You're the only reason I keep breathing  
>I swear, You keep on giving me the reason to keep believing<br>Finally I'm worth it, though I'm not perfect  
>It still feels right, and I keep on giving<br>Trying to make a difference, in my life  
>But I know another way to show<br>Everything I can be for You  
>You're all that I'll ever need<br>I'll give you the Best of Me

Best of Me - **The Letter Black**

**ooOOoo**

The four girls lapse into a stunned silence, each of them glancing at each other warily after being told that they're going to be the champions' 'treasures' for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Tori clears her throat a bit, cutting the deafening silence.

"So… what exactly is going to happen to us?" she asks, glancing at Hermione.

"An excellent question, Miss Black," Dumbledore says, smiling at the girl. "Should you accept, you'll be put under a simple spell that will leave you in a death-like state. You'll be taken to the Black Lake, and the Mer-people will take you to the bottom of the lake to the designated area for the champions to find you. The Mer-people have been well informed of the situation. No harm will come to you. I will make sure of that myself," Dumbledore adds the last few sentences when each of the girls all share a startled look.

"I'll do it," Tori says, after a prolonged silence. Dumbledore smiles at her as if he knows that she'd accept.

"So will I," Hermione says, nodding once. Gabrielle and Cho accept shortly after. Dumbledore gives the girls a smile of approval and shortly the group of students and teachers make their way out to the Black Lake. Hermione and Tori walk close together, with Professor McGonagall close behind them. When they arrive at the edge of the Black Lake, Professor Dumbledore briefly goes over what's going to happen again, just for the girls' benefit. He then asks for a volunteer to go first, and the girls all glance around at each other.

"I will," Tori says.

"Very good, Miss Black," Dumbledore says, and Professor McGonagall puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and guides her forward. Dumbledore conjures up a small mattress by the edge of the water, and Tori lies down on it. He kneels down beside her and gives her a soft smile. "Everything will be fine, Miss Black," he says, and Tori nods.

Dumbledore points his wand to her temple and mutters a bit under his breath. Tori's eyelids immediately become heavy, and she shuts her eyes, drifting off into an immediate, deep sleep.

**ooOOoo**

The four champions dive into the water while Ron and Gabe stand on the docks with Ginny, Fred, George, Dean, Seamus, and Neville.

"Where do you think Hermione and Tori are?" Gabe asks, looking around for his twin sister.

"Dunno. Moody said that McGonagall wanted them in her office last night. Haven't seen them since," Ron says.

Underneath the water, Harry swims through the tall kelp, and weaves around the fish. He glances to his left and sees Fleur swimming a few meters away from him with a bubble around her nose and mouth. He watches for a moment as she cautiously swims through the kelp, then looks back ahead of him, and continues swimming. After a few minutes, Harry finally makes his way through the kelp, and is amazed at what he sees.

The vast mer-people utopia is absolutely breathtaking, but Harry doesn't dwell on these thoughts for long, lest he get too distracted from the task at hand. He swims around the many buildings and pillars, looking for a clue of what he is supposed to be looking for. When he reaches what he assumes to be the center of the mer-people's 'city' he sees four undistinguishable bodies floating, tied at the ankle to four small columns imbedded deep into the lake's floor.

Harry's eyes widen significantly as he swims closer and makes out the faces of two of his best friends. He swims quickly to them, directly to Tori first, and places his webbed hands on either side of her face. He lets his eyes scan her face, and blinks when she seems to be peacefully sleeping. Looking at the three other girls, he discovers they all seem to be in a deep slumber like Tori. He looks down and sees that they're all tied there by a simple piece of kelp. He quickly swims down and swiftly unties the kelp from Tori's ankle, but is startled when there is a blast of light to his right. His racing heart slows a bit when he sees it's only Cedric. Cedric loops his arm through Cho's and looks at Harry, tapping his wand to his watch.

Harry gets what Cedric is trying to tell him, and nods. Harry pulls out his wand as Cedric swims away, and readies it to cut Hermione's kelp, similar to the way Cedric had done, but as soon as he was ready to vocalize the spell, the sharp, jagged ends of a gold trident are pointed at his neck. At the other end of said trident, a mer-person is glaring at Harry. Harry feels two other tridents positioned at each side of his neck.

"But she's my friend too," Harry tries, and the mer-person hisses at him.

"Only one," the mer-person growls, looking at Harry fiercely. The glare on the mer-person's face quickly vanishes, and is replaced by a look of fright, and all three tridents are removed from Harry's neck. Each of the mer-people quickly swims away, and Harry furrows his eyebrows. He turns around and his eyes widen as a large shark is swimming towards him. Harry quickly swims out of the way and the shark glides past him. He raises his eyebrows, impressed, when he finds that the shark is Viktor Krum. Krum uses his new shark teeth and tears through the kelp holding Hermione, and drags her away. Harry watches as Krum swims away with Hermione, and makes his way back to Tori, and loops one of his arms through hers. He takes a moment and looks at the last girl waiting to be saved, Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle. Harry glances around to make sure there were no mer-people around. Thankfully, Krum had scared the majority of them away.

Harry takes the opportunity and uses the same spell that Cedric used, freeing Gabrielle. Harry, still linked with Tori, swims to Gabrielle, and loops his other arm through hers. He immediately starts swimming toward the surface of the water. After a few moments of swimming, Harry notices that the effects of the Gillyweed are wearing off. The webbing between his fingers is disappearing as well as his gills. He internally panics when he feels something latch onto his feet. He looks down as a vast amount of Grindylows begin swarming around him, trying to drag him back down to the bottom of the lake. Harry pushes Victoria and Gabrielle up to the surface of the water, leaving himself to battle the Grindylows.

Once at the surface of the water, Tori gasps, taking in lungfuls of air, her arms and legs automatically moving, keeping herself above the water. The sound of applause immediately reaches her ears, along with the sound of another gasp to her left. She looks over and sees Gabrielle struggling to keep herself above the water. Tori grabs her arm and pulls Gabrielle to her. She hooks Gabrielle's arms around her neck, and Gabrielle locks her legs around Tori's waist. It takes a bit longer than it normally would, but Tori and Gabrielle eventually reach the dock where Ron and Gabe were waiting to help them. They reach for Tori but she waves them off hurriedly.

"Take her first!" she shouts, and Gabrielle unwraps her arms from Tori's neck, and takes Ron's hands. Ron pulls the younger girl onto the dock, and Tori takes Gabe's and now Neville's waiting hands, and the two young men pull her onto the dock as well. A large towel is immediately thrown over her shoulders, and Gabe pulls her to him, wrapping his arms around her shivering body.

"Alright, sister?" he asks, leading her to the crowd of people.

"Y-Yeah," she stutters through chattering teeth. "W-Where's Harry?"

"Dunno…. He hasn't made it out of the lake yet," Gabe answers. Tori looks back out at the lake, but her attention is quickly diverted when arms are thrown around her.

"Goodness, are you alright?" the concerned voice of Hermione chimes in Tori's ear. Tori nods quickly, looking back out at the lake. Tori huddles into her brother's arms, trying to keep warm, while Gabe tightens his arms around her.

As the seconds pass, Tori's anxiety grows. She worries desperately for her best friend that has yet to appear from the water. That anxiety and worry suddenly vanishes as Harry jets up from the water, landing with a loud 'thud' on the dock. Tori quickly fights out of her brother's grasp and makes her way to Harry who is already surrounded by people.

"Harry!" Tori gasps, as she drops to her knees beside him. His attention is immediately on her.

"Tori, are you alright?" he asks suddenly, and Tori looks at him as if he's lost his mind.

"Me? I should be asking you!" Tori exclaims, a small smile on her face.

"I'm fine," he says, and opens his mouth to say more but is quickly cut off by another voice.

"You saved her, even though she wasn't yours to save. My little sister!" Fleur says in her thick French accent. Harry nods slightly, and Fleur takes his face in her hands, and kisses both of his cheeks, causing Tori to narrow her eyes a bit. "Thank you! And both of you, you helped!" she exclaims, looking at Tori, then to Ron who is standing slightly behind Tori, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Well, yeah… a bit," Ron mutters, nodding. Fleur quickly kisses Tori on both cheeks, causing her to grunt uncomfortably, then moves to Ron, kissing him on both cheeks in a similar fashion, causing Ron to blush all the way to his ears.

"Merci," Ron says, dreamily when Fleur walks away, making Tori chuckle a bit.

"Harry!" Hermione yelps, immediately tackling Harry in a hug.

"Hermione," Harry chokes out.

"Hermione, let him breathe," Tori laughs.

"Are you alright? You must be freezing. Personally I think you behaved admirably," Hermione says, kissing the top of Harry's head.

"I finished last Hermione," Harry sulks.

"Next to last," Tori supplies.

"Fleur never made it past the Grindylows!" Hermione fills Harry in.

"Attention! Attention! The winner is…. Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore's voice booms over the crowd, causing everyone to break out into applause. "For showing unique command of the bubblehead shark. The way I see it, Mister Potter would have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Miss Black but the others as well. We've agreed to award him second place! For outstanding moral fiber."

**ooOOoo**

**A/N: **Well, there's the very delayed chapter twelve! I hope it was likable! :)

**Questions?**

**Comments?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Onto chapter 13! So sorry about the long wait. I kind of lost my Harry Potter inspiration, but I recently started reading HP Fanfiction again and it all kind of came back! I promise I'll try my best to NOT let that happen again. I do, however, have a few other stories that I'm working on, so I'll be splitting up my work on this story with the others.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Reviewers and Replies: **

**grapejuice101: **Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**MinyaPunchers****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Ali: **Haha, I know, right? That part actually makes me chuckle a bit every time I watch the movie. Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lucy Greenhill****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**ShapedLikeStars****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lainare****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**RHatch89****: **Well, thank you very much! I'm glad you think so. Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**usuihentai727****: **Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Jordan Lynn 7****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**justwriteit1****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**elijahlover****: **I know, and I'm sorry about that, but like I've said before, these stories will basically revolve around Tori during the first few years. In later stories there will definitely be more Gabe and probably some more Sirius, especially during the Deathly Hallows. Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Aleksi black:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**zaria d. idonia****: **I'm so sorry about the wait. I promise to not let it go on like that again! Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Unicorn-mad****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**kaylee Adkins loves 1D****:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Guest:** Thank you for the review! I'm really sorry about the wait, but I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**-IAWTS-**

_I'm a dead man walking here_  
><em>But that's the least of all my fears<em>  
><em>Ooh, underneath the water<em>

_It's not Alabama clay_  
><em>That gives my trembling hands away<em>  
><em>Please forgive me father<em>

_Ain't going back to Barton Hollow_  
><em>Devil gonna follow me e'er I go<em>  
><em>Won't do me no good washing in the river<em>  
><em>Can't no preacher man save my soul<em>

_Barton Hollow** – The Civil Wars**_

**-IAWTS-**

After the second task, the students all gather into the many offered boats which are enchanted to magically take them back to the docks on their own. On the way to the docks, Tori finds herself squished between Gabe and Harry, the former still having his arms around her, keeping her warm. The three of them share a boat with Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George. Tori rolls her eyes at the Weasley twins as they chatter on about Harry coming in second place for the task.

"We should visit Hagrid when we get back," Tori announces, effectively stopping the twins' remarks about 'moral fiber'.

"We haven't been to see him in a while, have we?" Hermione asks, more to herself than to her friends.

"Are you sure you should stay out? You'll catch your death out here if you don't dry off," Gabe says, and Tori narrows her eyes at him.

"Well, isn't that sweet? Gabe's concerned for our little Vicky," Fred crows joyously with a large grin on his face. Everybody, excluding Fred and Tori, laugh as Tori gives Fred the evil eye. Tori reaches around Harry, dips her hand in the water, and splashes Fred.

"Don't call me 'Vicky'," Tori hisses at him. "And I'll be fine," she says to her twin, who raises his hands in a 'surrendering' motion. Fred, who brushes water from the arm of his jumper, narrows his eyes at Tori before reaching forward and ruffling her hair, laughing heartily at her cry of outrage. She quickly and forcefully slaps his hand away, and sends him the infamous 'Black' glare, which he actually flinches at, much to her approval. She then schools her features into a cool gaze as she looks at George, who looks mildly concerned on his twin's behalf. "You just wait. Your twin's going to be bald by tomorrow."

"Like hell," Fred mutters, pulling his hat down a little farther on his head, making Tori smirk.

"Don't look so glum, Freddie. At least they'll be able to tell us apart!" George says, happily, and Fred scoffs at his twin before shoving him half-heartedly. This unfortunately makes the boat rock, causing everybody aboard to grab onto something out of panic. Tori finds herself grasping onto her brother and Harry, holding one of their arms in two vice grips.

"Are you trying to kill us?!" Tori cries, loudly, making everybody roll their eyes nearly simultaneously at her dramatics.

"Don't be dramatic. We're nearly to shore," Gabe says, as he and Harry pry Tori's hands off of them.

"You can drown in shallow water," Tori points out, and Ron snorts a laugh.

"Yeah, if you're a bloody idiot," he mutters.

"Ron!" Hermione shouts, outraged.

"Well, it is Tori," Gabe points out, earning a hard slap to the back of the head from his twin. The rest of the ride is spent in silence by everyone except for Hermione who is thoroughly scolding Ron for his earlier comment. The entire scolding has Tori grinning like a fool with amusement, seeing as how she always enjoys it when Hermione reprimands somebody other than her. When they finally reach the docks, they all easily get off the boat, and walk along the dock.

"All that moral fiber, eh?" Fred quips and Tori rolls her eyes.

"I thought we were past all this," she mutters, sending a cheeky grin to Fred's narrowed eyes. He raises his hand to ruffle her hair again, but she stops him by raising her arms over her head defensively.

"Blimey, even when you go wrong it turns out right," Ron says, looking at Harry who simply smiles at him.

"Well done, 'moral fiber'," George says good-naturedly as he walks off after his twin. Harry follows Hermione and Ron next to Tori, slowing down slightly when Barty Crouch approaches him. Tori sees this and sends him a smile.

"See you at Hagrid's," she says, and Harry nods, returning the smile.

"See you," he says, and she walks off after Hermione and Ron. She looks to her left and sees Gabe still next to her.

"You coming along?" she asks him, and he shakes his head.

"I'm heading back up to the castle. I'll see you later," he says, and walks off after Tori sends him a wave. A few minutes after Hermione, Tori, and Ron arrive at Hagrid's, Harry arrives, and Hagrid decides that it would be a great idea to take a stroll through the Forbidden Forest, making Tori sigh with dismay as they walk. She grins when Harry sends her a knowing look.

"You know, this place holds a lot of memories for me," Tori announces as they walk through the forest. "Some bad, some… No. No, no. All bad," she says, shaking her head, and leaping over a log.

"I dunno. I quite liked it when Malfoy got scratched by Buckbeak," Ron says wistfully, and Tori barks out a laugh.

"That's not funny, Ron," Hermione chides him, and Tori scoffs.

"Sure it was. He was so dramatic about it, too," Tori exclaims before clutching her arm. "Oh! It killed me! It's killed me!" she half shouts – half laughs, before bursting into raucous laughter along with Ron and Harry. Even Hagrid lets an amused chuckle escape, and Tori looks at Hermione who has a small smile on her face that she tries to hide.

"So, I remember when I firs' met you all," Hagrid says when the laughter dies down. "Bigges' bunch of misfits I've ever set eyes on. Always reminded me a bit of me' self a little later. And here we all are, four years later."

"We're still a bunch of misfits," Ron adds, and Tori notices that Harry is walking a few feet away from everybody else, so she takes it upon herself to join him.

"You alright?" she asks him.

"Yeah, of course," he says, with a reassuring smile, and she nods with a grin as they walk.

"Maybe. But we've all got each other, and Harry of course. Soon to be! The youngest! Tri-Wizard champion there's ever been! Hooray!" Hagrid cheers joyously and Tori laughs, nudging Harry with her elbow. Harry lifts an eyebrow slightly and nudges her back. She returns the sentiment and soon enough they're pushing and shoving each other playfully while Ron, Hagrid, and Hermione sing the Hogwarts' school song. The two of them stop when they see a bowler hat lying on the ground.

"Who does that belong to?" Tori asks as Harry picks it up. He frowns, not answering her question and he walks a little farther, Tori following behind him. Tori's eyes widen significantly when she sees a man lying on the ground, his dark eyes staring lifelessly at the sky. "Oh no… Isn't that…?" she trails off, shakily.

"Mr. Crouch," Harry says, staring at the body. He vaguely registers Tori running off, shouting Hagrid's name, calling for help. He stares at the body of the man he'd previously had a conversation with, not even hours before, wondering who could have killed him… Who would have killed him in that short span of time?

**-IAWTS-**

Hours later, Tori finds herself in the Gryffindor common room, sitting on the couch, simply staring into the fire, troubled after finding Barty Crouch's dead body in the forest with Harry. She sighs and pulls her knees to her chest with a frown when she sees the man's lifeless eyes flash in her mind. Her frown lessens when she feels the couch sink down on either side of her. Tori glances to her left then to her right, and she's mildly unsurprised when she sees two identical faces grinning down at her.

"May I help you two?" Tori asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Why yes, actually!" Fred cries with a smile.

"You see, Vicky," George starts and Tori glares heatedly at him while preparing to slap him upside the head, but George immediately covers his head with his hands. Fred quickly reaches forward and grabs both of Tori's wrists, and her glare shifts to him.

"We've procured quite a few dung bombs recently," Fred continues, distracting Tori from unleashing her wrath on his twin.

"And we haven't pranked ole' Filchey for a while," George adds, slowly dropping his hands from his head.

"So we were thinking," Fred says, turning in his seat to face her more on the couch.

"That maybe you'd like to take a break from your glum thoughts," George adds.

"And come with us!" Fred says with a grin. "It'll be fun," he says in a sing-song voice. Tori mulls this over for a few moments while looking between the two of them. Slowly, a grin forms on her face, and she hops to her feet.

"Why it would be my pleasure, good sirs," Tori says, and the twins rise from their seats with wide, devious smiles on their faces. "Just let me go get shoes, and I'll be right back," she says before walking around the couch. She pauses in her tracks before slapping George on the back of the head.

"Oi!" he exclaims, holding the back of his head and turning around sharply.

"Don't call me Vicky," she hisses to him before practically skipping up the stairs. Once in her dorm, she finds Hermione sitting on her assigned bed next to Tori's with Crookshanks and Blossom lying together at the foot of the bed. Hermione has her Ancient Runes textbook open on the bed with a piece of parchment on her lap, scribbling on it with a quill. Tori casually walks to her bed and picks up one of her trainers before looking around her for the other, and she frowns when she can't find it. She looks at Hermione and sighs. Her frown grows deeper when Hermione doesn't notice that Tori is even in the room. She sighs louder, but Hermione continues to write on the parchment. Tori narrows her eyes before taking a few steps closer to Hermione's bed and letting out a loud, exaggerated sigh, finally catching Hermione's attention.

"Oh, Tori, I didn't know you were here," Hermione says, giving her friend a small smile before returning to her work.

"I noticed," Tori mutters. "Have you seen my other shoe?" she asks, holding up the shoe that she found. Hermione glances at the shoe before frowning slightly and shaking her head. Tori groans before kneeling next to the bed and looking underneath. She rises to her feet when she finds nothing. "What I would give for a dog right now," Tori mutters before turning back to Hermione's bed and looking at the two felines who are watching her. "You two make yourselves useful and find my shoe."

"You know if you'd take your shoes off normally, you wouldn't lose them so much," Hermione says without looking at her, and Tori narrows her eyes at her. She lets out a noise of frustration before continuing on her search for her missing shoe, and eventually finds it. She lets out a cry of triumph when she finds it underneath Parvarti's bed. She quickly puts on her shoes before turning to bolt out the door. "Where are you going?" Hermione asks, looking at Tori suspiciously, and Tori looks at her innocently.

"I dunno," Tori says, while shrugging. Hermione stares her down for a few moments before sighing.

"Fine, but if you get detention, it's on you," Hermione says, seriously, and Tori grins.

"That's the spirit! See you later," Tori says before leaving the room quickly. She trots down the stairs, and is surprised to see Fred and George still in the common room.

"Finally!" George exclaims.

"We thought for sure you'd gotten lost," Fred quips, and Tori scowls at him.

"Well, we don't have all night!" Tori cries before skipping to the portrait hole. The trio makes their way out of the common room, and through the halls. As they venture closer to Filch's office, they cross paths with his cat, Mrs. Norris. The three students freeze as the cat peers up at them with menacing red eyes. "Not good."

"Not to worry. It's not past curfew yet," George says, taking a few tentative steps forward, and around the cat, who watches diligently. Tori and Fred copy George's motions, and Tori frowns as the cat merely watches them walk away from where she's sat on the floor, her tail twitching slowly. Minutes later, they reach Filch's office, and they listen carefully, pleased when they hear no movement inside. Fred hands Tori a few dung bombs when they walk into the office, and the trio strategically place them in various hiding spots around the room.

"They're spelled to go off next time the door is opened," Fred mutters lowly to Tori, and she nods with a grin. When all the dung bombs are in place, they easily leave the room, and shut the door behind them. They all turn their heads sharply to the left when they hear the sounds of a cat meowing and a raspy voice cooing.

"Sooner than I expected," George says, and Tori practically bounces with excitement.

"Which means we don't have to wait for his reaction," she squeals quietly as the three of them hide around the corner closest to the office. They all peek around the wall, but quickly duck their heads back when Filch comes into view. The three of them slowly peek back around and they all grin simultaneously when Filch reaches out to open the door, and when the door finally opens the satisfying explosion echoes down the hallway. A string of loud curses come from the office, and Tori, George, and Fred bolt down the hallway in the opposite direction, laughing merrily.

After a few moments of running, Fred and George decide to go to the kitchens for a snack. They ask Tori to join but she declines, not feeling particularly hungry. She decides to head back to the common room after Fred and George disappear. She's surprised when halfway back to her destination, she finds Harry, walking in the same direction, a little ways in front of her.

"Harry?" she calls, and he turns around, grinning slightly when he sees that it's only Tori. "What are you doing out?"

"I was seeing Dumbledore and got cornered by Snape," he says, and Tori cringes before looking at him sympathetically. "What about you?"

"Er, well… I was kind of with Fred and George," she starts before she hears Filch's furious voice echoing down the hallways. Tori's eyes widen and she quickly grabs Harry's hand and pulls him behind one of the many suits of armor that are lined up along the corridors. She knows that if Filch catches her out, he'll know that she's one of the few culprits that set off the dung bombs in his office; due to how many times she and the twins have done so before.

"Tori-," Harry starts, but Tori quickly reaches up and covers his mouth with her hand as she hears Filch come closer. Tori keeps her hand covering Harry's mouth until Filch angrily stalks by, and once she sees him turn the corner, she uncovers Harry's mouth and lets out a relieved sigh.

"That was close," she whispers, more to herself than to Harry. She looks up into Harry's eyes and swallows quietly, only then noticing their close proximity to each other. She watches with slight confusion as Harry watches her face intently, and she blushes slightly before backing away and clearing her throat. "We should… Go back to the common room before Filch comes back," she says, and Harry blinks before nodding with a small grin.

"Right," he says and they silently move from behind the suit of armor and continue their journey to the common room. "So what's Filch looking for you for?" he asks, and Tori plasters a look of offense on her face. Harry merely raises an eyebrow at her and she grins cheekily.

"Well… Fred and George decided that he hadn't been pranked in a while so we might have… You know… Set off a few dung bombs in his office," Tori says, beaming proudly when he laughs.

"And are they hiding out as well?" Harry asks as they ascend the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.

"Maybe. Last I heard they were going to the kitchens for a snack," Tori shrugs before muttering the password to the Fat Lady. The door to the portrait hole swings open and they enter the common room. "Ah, I love the feeling of getting away with a prank," Tori says with a pleased grin as she collapses on the couch.

"I thought you didn't mind detention," Harry says, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Oh, I don't. It's just an inconvenience most of the time. And despite how much I like her, a glare from Minnie is… Unnerving," Tori says with an exaggerated shudder.

"Agreed," Harry says before yawning widely. "I'm gonna head to bed."

"Right. Long day of swimming in the lake and all that," Tori says with a grin, and Harry snorts a laugh.

"Right," he says before rising from his seat. "G'night," he calls before ascending the stairs to the boys' dorms.

"Night, Harry!"

**-IAWTS-**

**A/N: **And there's chapter 13! I know it's short, but I wanted to have the third task all in one chapter. This story is almost finished which means we venture into the Order of the Phoenix very soon! So, I know I have quite a few stories out, but I've put almost all of them on a hiatus, except for this one, one of my Vampire Diaries stories, and my new Hunger Games story! Like I said, I've recently gotten back into Harry Potter fanfiction, so I'll be updating more often.

**I've updated my Polyvore collection for this story, and added a bunch of new outfits! The link is on my profile! Go check them out.**

I've also changed Tori's face claim from Lucy Hale to Selena Gomez. Honestly, I took some time to really look at Lucy Hale, and honestly thought she looked more like Harry's twin than Gabe's. Seeing as how Gabe's face claim is Tyler Posey, I thought I should pick a girl who looked more like him. I mean… They are twins after all. I'm still looking for a face claim for their mother, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas. I'm looking for an actress or model from a Spanish background with dark hair and brown eyes like Selena Gomez's. Leave any suggestions you have in a review!

**Questions? **

**Comments?  
>Suggestions?<strong>

**Leave them in a review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Reviewers and Replies: **

**RHatch89****: **Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!

**grapejuice101****:** Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well! I do plan on writing the first and second books after I'm through with the other stories in this series.

**BlueEyedDreamer97****: **They do look alike. Weird. But I changed it to Selena Gomez because I chose Tyler Posey to portray Gabe, and I really think Lucy looks more like Daniel Radcliffe. Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!

**Lucy Greenhill****: **I'm definitely using her as the face claim for their mom! Thanks! Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!

**potterhead8989****:** Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!

**aleksi black:** Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!

**-IAWTS-**

_I remember tears streaming down your face  
>When I said, "I'll never let you go"<br>When all those shadows almost killed your light  
>I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"<br>But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

_Just close your eyes_  
><em>The sun is going down<em>  
><em>You'll be alright<em>  
><em>No one can hurt you now<em>  
><em>Come morning light<em>  
><em>You and I'll be safe and sound<em>

_**Safe and Sound – Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars**_

**-IAWTS-**

Months pass, and soon enough, there's only a week left before the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. Each of the champions are on edge, but Harry swears up and down that there's no one more nervous as he. Hermione disagrees, and constantly reminds him that each of the other champions are probably just as nervous. When she says this, Harry wisely stays silent to avoid an argument.

Currently Harry, Hermione, Ron, Gabe, and Tori find themselves in an abandoned classroom, Gabe and Hermione teaching Harry new spells, while Ron and Tori watch quietly. Ron and Tori listen boredly as Hermione reads about a spell aloud from one of her school books. Tori idly twirls her wand between her fingers as she sighs, before picking up a piece of parchment and crushing it into a ball. She takes a seat on one of the tables and tosses the ball up into the air and catches it again. She does this a few more times before the ball of parchment is snatched out of the air by Ron. Tori gives Ron the evil eye before snatching the ball out of the air when he tosses it above his head. They glare at each other for a few moments before an unspoken agreement is passed between them and Tori moves to the edge of the table while Ron takes a seat at the other end. Tori tosses the ball to Ron, and he catches it before tossing it back.

"Victoria and Ronald!" Hermione shouts, annoyed after a few minutes of their game. Tori and Ron both jump, startled and they look at Hermione sharply. Unfortunately for Ron, Hermione caught their attention just as Tori threw the ball back to him, and it hits him in the face, making Tori chuckle, deeply amused.

"Yes?" they ask at the same time, making them glance at each other, slightly uncomfortable.

"You should be helping, not playing," she says with a glare, and Tori pulls a face of offense.

"We are!" she cries, and Hermione raises her eyebrows.

"Oh? How exactly are you helping?" she asks, and Tori crosses her arms defiantly.

"Moral support," she says, and Gabe snorts into his hand. Tori sends her twin a glare as Ron nods his head in agreement.

"Yes, well moral support isn't going to help him during the third task. He needs to know as many spells that could possibly help him as he can otherwise he's going to potentially get hurt," Hermione says bluntly, oblivious to the anxious look that Harry sends her. Tori, on the other hand, notices Harry's look straight away and she lifts an eyebrow as she turns her attention back to the only other female in the room.

"You don't seem to be the epitome of positivity at the moment, eh 'Mione?" Tori asks, slightly nodding to Harry. Hermione frowns slightly before looking at Harry, and her expression immediately turns apologetic.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sure you'll do just fine. You've still got a week to learn more spells and hexes," Hermione says, attempting to mask her own stress about the situation.

"Plus we've been at this for almost a month," Tori pipes up, and Harry turns his attention to her. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if you won the tournament."

"Yeah, you always come out of things alive. Sometimes awfully wounded, but alive," Ron says, tossing the balled up piece of parchment above his head and catching it. Tori glares at him before slapping the back of his head.

"Thanks, Ron," Harry deadpans as Ron lets out an 'oi!' in response to Tori's head slap.

"Tact. Learn it," Tori snaps to Ron who has the decency to look sheepish, sending a grin to Harry, who laughs half heartedly. Hermione and Gabe share a glance before capturing Harry's attention again. Ron and Tori sigh loudly, immediately bored once again, and Tori quickly snatches the ball of parchment out of Ron's hand before standing. She gestures for Ron to stand as well, and he does with a small frown on his face. "Here's the game. I toss it to you, and you catch it, then you toss it to me, and if I catch it we both take a step back."

"I remember this one," Ron says, nodding, and Tori nods back with a grin before tossing the parchment ball to Ron. He catches it and tosses it back to Tori, who catches it easily. They both nod before taking a step away from each other. The game goes on until they're both on complete opposite sides of the room.

"Let's hope it can make it that far," Tori says, and Ron nods. Tori takes a deep, dramatic breath before bringing her arm back and throwing the ball of parchment as hard as she can, but despite the force behind the throw, the ball lands inches away from Ron's feet. Tori stares at the ball with dramatically saddened eyes and she drops to her knees. "No!" she wails, hanging her head in defeat.

"Oh, Victoria, honestly," Hermione scoffs, and Tori sends her friend a look when she uses her full first name. She eyes everyone's expressions; Hermione's nose being buried in a book, mouthing the words to herself, Gabe and Ron not paying attention, thoroughly used to Tori's overly dramatic behavior, and Harry's deeply amused grin. Tori grins back, happy that somebody appreciates her sense of humor.

"Hermione don't you think we've been at this long enough?" Harry asks, leaning back in his seat tiredly. They'd been there for hours, only taking a break to go to dinner.

"I agree. We've been in here for ages," Tori says, rising to her feet, giving Hermione a pleading expression. Hermione eyes Tori's look before looking at Harry and Ron, finding that they're giving her the same expression. She huffs before looking at Gabe, thinking that of all of them, he'd be the one to support her, but she's surprised when she sees Gabe's pleading look that looks nearly identical to Tori's.

"I do have a bit of homework that I need to finish," he says sheepishly. "We've still got a week to prepare him. Though I don't really see much else we can do…," he trails off.

"Fine," Hermione says, and Ron, Harry, and Tori all share a triumphant look before practically skipping to the door of the classroom.

"Thought we'd never get out of there," Ron mutters to his two friends and they nod in agreement.

"See you tomorrow," Gabe says, ruffling Tori's hair, grinning at the indignant squawk that comes from her.

**-IAWTS-**

The night before the third task, Tori finds herself in her dorm, standing next to the window, staring blankly at the moon. Judging by the position she deducts that it has to be sometime in the early morning. She hears the subtle deep even breaths of her sleeping dorm mates.

It'd been increasingly difficult for Tori to sleep for the past few nights, due to the immense worry she has for Harry. Despite all the confidence she holds for her friend, she knows from the past few years of experience, that anything can go wrong.

'_People have died in this tournament,_' Hermione's words echo in Tori's mind, and she squeezes her eyes shut before running a hand through her long hair. Tori wrenches her eyes open before looking around for Blossom, wanting to cuddle with her cat for comfort, and she frowns when she sees that the cat in question is nowhere in sight. She notices that Crookshanks is missing as well, but this doesn't exactly surprise her considering the two cats can't be seen without the other for the past year. She looks around the dorm a bit more before quietly opening the dorm's door and exiting the room. She walks down the stairs leading to the common room, and she frowns when she sees the fire still going and somebody sitting on the couch. Upon closer inspection, she sees that the person on the couch is Harry, and her eyebrows raise when she sees Blossom lying on his lap.

"Couldn't sleep?" Tori asks, and Harry's body jerks in surprise. He whips his head around quickly and his body relaxes when he sees Tori standing close to the couch in her pajamas. He gives her a small grin.

"Too much on my mind," he says, and Tori nods in understanding. "You?"

"Same," she says, sitting on the chair to the right of the couch. She smiles slightly when Crookshanks hops onto her lap, and she pets the ginger cat gently on the head. "I was actually on the hunt for these two," she says, gesturing to the two cats. "Found them," she says with a grin, and Harry snorts quietly and nods.

"You can ask," Harry says quietly after a few moments of silence, and Tori lets out a breath.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" she asks, and Harry sighs before shaking his head slightly.

"Hermione and Gabe have taught me a lot. I feel more prepared, but I'm really not ready," Harry says, and Tori frowns at him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have the utmost confidence that you'll be fine. I can see you winning this thing," Tori says, grinning slightly at him, and he lifts his eyebrows in mild surprise. She laughs lightly and rises from her seat, picking up Crookshanks along the way. She moves over to the couch and takes a seat next to Harry, setting the large ginger cat between them. "And I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend either. You seem to doubt yourself too much."

"It's hard not to sometimes," Harry admits, and Tori frowns.

"How can you say that? Think of all you've done the past three years! You saved the Sorcerer's Stone in our first year, killed a bloody Basilisk second year, and… Well, last year you…," Tori trails off in thought.

"Faced the wrath of Victoria Black," he says with a large grin and Tori shoves his shoulder playfully.

"Sure, we'll go with that," she says though laughter, and shifts in her seat to face him more. She watches as the smile fades from his face, and she sighs quietly.

"Look, I know you're trying to help, but you forget that I've had help through all of that. I'm alone in this tournament. I have to do this all myself," Harry says, and Tori frowns at him.

"I don't recall being there when you faced Voldy-pants during our first year," Tori says, grinning when she sees Harry suppressing laughter at her nickname for Voldemort. "Shut up," she says, and his shoulders begin to shake with laughter. "It's better than calling him 'You-Know-Who'. Feel free to use it," she says, and Harry takes a deep breath to calm himself while lifting his glasses slightly to wipe tears of silent laughter from the corners of his green eyes. "Anyway," Tori begins, drawing out the word, "nobody was with you when you killed the Basilisk during second year. Hermione was petrified, and Ron and I were stuck with that idiot Lockhart. You always manage to do brilliant things on your own. You just don't give yourself enough credit."

The common room is flooded with complete silence following Tori's words. Tori watches as Harry stares at her with an intense, unreadable expression on his face. Slowly, Harry blinks and looks down at the white cat on his lap before nodding slightly.

"That, er… Helped… Right?" Tori asks, frowning, and Harry grins.

"Yeah. Yeah, it did," Harry says. "Surprisingly," he tacks on at the end making Tori roll her eyes.

"Shut up and go to bed. You'll need all the sleep you can get," Tori says, and Harry nods in agreement.

"Right," he says before standing. "See you tomorrow then," he says and Tori nods with a small smile. Her smile turns to a full grin as Harry walks past her.

"Oh, Harry?" she asks, and he turns his head slightly to see her. "If you die don't worry, I'll take care of Hedwig for you," she says, and he rolls his eyes making her laugh loudly. "That was for the 'surprisingly' bit."

"Goodnight, Victoria," he says, firmly before beginning to walk up the stairs.

"Goodnight, Harry!" she chirps before chuckling and petting Crookshanks more.

**-IAWTS-**

The next evening, Professor McGonagall arrives to the Gryffindor common room to retrieve Harry for the third task, making Ron, Hermione, and Tori tense with worry. Half an hour later, the students are all herded out to the Quidditch pitch to view the task, and Hermione, Tori, Ron, Gabe, and Ginny all sit together in the section of the stands for those who support Harry. Everybody is amazed at the transformation of the Quidditch field, where a tall hedge runs around nearly the entire length of it.

Tori glances to her left at Hermione when she lets out a loud sigh. She watches as her friend wrings her hands nervously, her eyes darting around the Quidditch pitch.

"You know he's going to be fine," Tori mutters, and Hermione gives her a sharp look. "Thinking negative is going to do nothing but drive you mad. Relax."

"Since when have you become the optimist in your group of friends?" Gabe asks from the other side of Tori, and Tori simply gives him a look before slapping the back of his head. Gabe hisses in pain slightly before slapping her back. Tori stares at him, affronted, before punching him in the arm. The twins begin exchanging playful slaps and punches, each blow slowly becoming more aggressive than the last. Ginny and Hermione, who are sitting on either side of the twins, quickly move away from them, sliding down the bench a few feet.

"Gabriel and Victoria Black!" a familiar voice nearly shrieks which makes Tori, Gabe, Ron, and Ginny cringe and look up to see Molly Weasley's stern face. Behind Molly stands Bill, and Remus.

"Er… Hello, Mrs. Weasley," the twins say at the same time, making those around them shift uncomfortably in their seats, finding it odd when the Black, and Weasley twins both say things at the same time.

"Bill," Gabe acknowledges with a grin.

"Uncle Remus," Tori greets, happily, and her eyes widen significantly when she sees her dad in his dog form standing in front of Remus, his tail wagging happily. "Wh-," she starts loudly but is cut off when Gabe covers her mouth with his hand.

"Sometimes I wonder how we can be twins," he hisses at her, and she glares before biting his hand. She smirks in satisfaction when he lets out an abnormally high pitched yelp that doesn't seem to match his normal deep voice. "Very mature," he grumbles and Tori turns back around sharply. She lets out a loud noise of disgust when her face is quickly covered in wet dog kisses. She quickly pushes her dad's dog head away, and glowers at him when he lets out a weird coughing noise that she interprets as a laugh. She smirks slightly when he does the same to Gabe who is slightly more prepared than she was. Sirius barks happily when Gabe and Tori both wrap their arms around his dog form at the same time, making those around them smile for different reasons; Remus, Ron, and Hermione because they know that the dog is Sirius, and everybody else, because to them it just looks like two teenagers who've been missing their beloved pet.

Tori and Gabe both turn their attention to the field when the crowd roars with applause. They see Fleur being led out by Madame Maxime, Krum being led out by Karkaroff, Cedric being led out by his father, and Harry being led out by Dumbledore. The thunderous applause from the crowd is deafening, and everybody rises to their feet as the cheers grow louder.

Harry can't fight the smile that comes to his face as he looks at the section of the audience that has a variety of signs with his name on them, and lots of Gryffindor colors. He quickly spots Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Tori, and Gabe in the audience, and his attention is immediately focused on the familiar black dog sitting on the bench between where Tori and Gabe are standing, and he feels a substantial amount of relief that Sirius is there. His eyes drift to Tori, and his smile vanishes, and the look on his face changes to confusion when he sees her making a series of very odd hand gestures.

Hermione notices this as well, and she rolls her eyes heavily at her best friend. Eventually everybody sits down, but Tori remains on her feet, still making a variety of hand gestures, and mouthing words, making many people, including everybody on the field, look at her in complete confusion. Hermione quickly grips the back of her jacket and pulls her down sharply.

"What are you doing?" she asks, her voice both irritated and amused.

"I'm trying to wish him good luck," Tori says, frowning at her friend's tone. Her frown deepens when she hears Hermione mutter something that sounds a lot like 'for God's sake,' and gives Harry a thumb's up. Tori smiles widely in realization before mimicking Hermione's actions and raises both thumbs while sending Harry an encouraging smile. She snorts when Harry shakes his head with an embarrassed smile, and looks away.

"Earlier today Professor Moody placed the tri-wizards cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now as Mr. Diggory...," Dumbledore starts, and is cut off when the section of the audience supporting Cedric rises to their feet and cheers. "And Mr. Potter," he continues and the same thing happens with Harry's section of the audience, "tied for first position they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum...," Victor's supporters cheer, "and Miss Delacour," Fleur's supporters cheer. "The first person to touch the cup will be the winner. I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, if at any point should a contestant wish to withdraw from the task he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round," Dumbledore says, and each of the champions move to stand around Dumbledore. Everybody watches as Dumbledore speaks to each of the contestants before turning around and stepping back up to the podium. "On the count of three! One!" Dumbledore begins and the cannon goes off, startling nearly everybody. The band begins to play again and everyone watches as Harry and Cedric enter the maze.

Eventually everything quiets down besides the sound of everybody talking to each other, and Tori sighs dramatically.

"I'm bored," she groans, her shoulders slumping comically.

"It's been thirty seconds," Gabe says, exasperatedly.

"It's Tori," Bill pipes in from behind them, grinning at the scathing look that Tori sends him.

"Right, how could I have forgotten?" Gabe mutters before turning away and talking to Ginny which makes Tori smirk. Tori looks around a bit before her eyes finally land on Hermione.

"So, what all do you have in that bag?" Tori asks, and Hermione looks at her for a few moments.

"Things for school," Hermione says with a frown, and Tori sighs. Hermione rolls her eyes before looking around her for a bit before standing up and walking down the isle a bit and picking up a rock. She takes out her wand and mutters something under her breath, transfiguring the rock to a ball before tossing it to Tori. Tori grins widely, before standing.

"Oh, Ron," Tori calls in a sing-song voice to her friend who is sitting there as bored as she was. He glances up and sees her holding a brightly colored palm sized ball in her hand and he grins before standing up, ready to play the game they were playing in the classroom days before. Tori tosses the ball to Ron, and he tosses it back. This goes on for a few minutes and soon enough, most of Harry's supporters are all on their feet, joined in on the game. After a few more minutes, the ball is tossed by Seamus to Ginny, and Sirius decides that this would be a good time to play the roll of the friendly pet, and catches the ball out of the air before running away slightly. "Really?!" Tori shouts, swiveling around quickly and looking at the dog. "Give it back," she says with narrowed eyes, and Sirius merely wags his tail playfully. "You're embarrassing yourself," Tori hisses, and Sirius makes the weird dog-laugh sound. "Uncle Remus," Tori whines, looking at Remus, who is laughing, deeply amused. Tori takes a breath through her nose and looks at Gabe who is standing between her and Ginny. "Time to twin up," she says.

"Right," he says, before pointing in the direction that he wants Tori to go in. She nods before walking sideways in that direction slowly, and Gabe goes in the other direction. Sirius somehow seems to keep his eyes on both of his children, and internally smiles at their teamwork. Gabe and Tori share a look before running towards Sirius at the same time, but their confident looks fall when Sirius sprints in the opposite direction, and down the stands.

"Oh, come on!" Tori groans before running after her dad with her brother. They're surprisingly joined by half of the people who joined hers and Ron's game. Everybody else in the stands laughs at the scene of a group of teenagers chasing a large black dog with a ball in its mouth. Sirius manages to evade every teen's grasp and grab, sprinting in many different directions, and Tori can tell that he's highly enjoying himself.

Tori, Ron, and Ginny all roar with laughter when Fred and George, who had joined in with the chase, dive for Sirius from opposite directions, but Sirius manages to run out of the way just in time, and the twins both land on their stomachs on the ground next to each other. The Weasley twins are good sports about it, proving so when they stand and bow graciously.

Eventually, Seamus attempts to do the same, but meets the same fate as Fred and George. Tori, who is running after Sirius, doesn't notice Seamus lying on the ground and trips over him. She groans and rolls from her stomach to her back, and looks at Seamus, who is still on the ground laughing at her.

"Shut up," she mutters and kicks him in the leg. She looks to her left and sees Sirius approaching her, and he drops the ball on her stomach, causing her to snort with laughter. He nudges her with his nose, subtly asking if she's okay, and she sits up. "I'm fine," she says, grabbing the ball, but she drops it immediately and wipes her hand on Sirius' fur. "Gross. Did you have to get your saliva all over it?" she asks, and he barks in confirmation.

Hours pass after all the excitement, and Tori finds herself back in the stands sitting between Molly and Remus, while playing the muggle game of Tic-Tac-Toe with Hermione.

"Argh!" she shouts in exasperation when Hermione wins the game again. "I hate this game. I want to play something else."

"Like what?" Hermione asks, and Tori shrugs. Tori's and Hermione's attention snaps forward when the band begins to play again, and they see Harry and Cedric had made it out of the maze. Everybody rises to their feet and cheers loudly, and the crowd moves to walk out onto the field. Tori, Hermione, and Ron all move quickly forward, and push their way down the stairs. The three of them exchange frowns when the band stops playing abruptly, and when they move closer, Tori freezes in her steps when she takes in the sight on the field. The scene makes her insides go cold, and her limbs turn numb.

Harry had returned with Cedric, and was currently sobbing heavily, while Cedric lies on the ground.

Dead.

**-IAWTS-**

**A/N: **And there's chapter fourteen! I hope you all liked it!

**New outfits on Polyvore! Link on my profile! Go check them out!**

**Questions?**

**Comments?**

**Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Reviewers and Replies:**

**grapejuice101****: **Ahh, I know! I did too! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**RHatch89****: **Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**WriteToEscapeReality1309****: **Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like how I'm making Tori deal with Cedric's death. I also hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Guest: **Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lucy Greenhill****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lainare****: **You get to see during this chapter! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**lexzly****:** Thank you for all of your reviews! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**potterhead8989****: **Well, thank you for following me and this story! Following me will come in handy when I post the first chapter for the next story in the series! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**-IAWTS-**

_The tricky thing  
>Is yesterday we were just children<br>Playing soldiers  
>Just pretending<br>Dreaming dreams with happy endings  
>In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords<br>But now we've stepped into a cruel world  
>Where everybody stands and keeps score<em>

_So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard  
>Every lesson forms a new scar<br>They never thought you'd make it this far  
>But turn around (turn around), oh they've surrounded you<br>It's a showdown (showdown) and nobody comes to save you now  
>But you've got something they don't<br>Yeah you've got something they don't  
>You've just gotta keep your eyes open<em>

_Keep your feet ready  
>Heartbeat steady<br>Keep your eyes open  
>Keep your aim locked<br>The night goes dark  
>Keep your eyes open<em>

_Everybody's waiting for you to breakdown  
>Everybody's watching to see the fallout<br>Even when you're sleeping, sleeping  
>Keep your eyes open<em>

_**Eyes Open – Taylor Swift**_

**-IAWTS-**

Victoria and Gabriel were both seven when their mother got sick with an incurable disease. Despite all the advancements in muggle technology, and magic healing, no one had ever come up with a cure for cancer. Unfortunately for Allison Black nee Calzada, they caught the cancer too late. Her two children were forced to watch their mother become sicker, and sicker, and in the span of a year, their mother's condition was nearly unbearable to witness. Remus, of course, helped out a lot with taking care of the twins while Allison couldn't, and Andromeda helped when Remus couldn't.

A couple of months after the twins turned eight, Allison passed away. The twins didn't see it coming, and were both in the room with her when she slipped away. One minute Allison was awake, speaking lovingly with her babies, knowing that her time was soon coming, and then… She was gone.

Tori remembers that day very clearly, and she and her brother grieved properly after the passing of their mother. The situation wasn't easy, but the twins were put at ease slightly that their mother passed away peacefully, in the presence of the two people that she loved the most. Tori remembers the peaceful look on her mother's face; she looked almost serene with her eyes shut and a calm expression.

That's why she finds Cedric's frightened face, permanently frozen that way in death, so horrifying.

She stands rooted to the spot on the stands, gaping at her ex-boyfriend's still, dead body. She feels people pushing past her as the entire field goes silent other than the sound of Harry's sorrowful cries as he hovers over Cedric's body. She barely notices as Gabe grips her upper arms and leads her down to the field. Remus, who is helping the other adults herd the students out of the stands, catches sight of his two god-children with Sirius following at their side, and sends a look to Bill, who nods in understanding. Remus rushes down the stands, quickly catching up to Tori and Gabe, seeing as how Tori had frozen near Cedric's body, staring wide eyed at him.

Despite how hard Gabe tried, he couldn't move his sister away, and he glances down at Sirius who is nudging Tori with his head, letting out small whimpers, trying to get Tori's attention. Gabe lets out a sigh of relief when Remus shows up, and takes her from him.

"Victoria," he says gently, and he frowns when she pays him no mind. "Victoria, come on, darling," he says, and with a small amount of difficulty, he manages to turn her away from the scene. He places an arm around her shoulder, and places his other hand on Gabe's shoulder before leading the twins away from the field, with Sirius following next to Gabe.

Hours later, Ron, Hermione, Tori, Ginny, Gabe, Remus, Molly, Sirius, and Bill all find themselves in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, crowded around Harry's unconscious body. Tori sits in one of the chairs available, staring off into space, frowning slightly as she absentmindedly pets the fur of Sirius' head that is resting on her lap. Remus stands behind her with his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently. Soon, everybody turns their attention to the infirmary doors when they hear the sounds of shouting outside. This goes on for a few minutes before Tori lets out a loud harsh sigh.

"They'll wake him up if they don't shut it!" she growls, and Remus squeezes her shoulders gently. Molly obviously agrees due to the scathing looks she sends to the doors.

"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?" Hermione asks, frowning while staring at the doors.

"That's Fudge's voice," Molly whispers between furious looks at the doors. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

The shouts grow louder and eventually the doors burst open, and Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Fudge enter the hospital. Tori watches as Bill strides past her and pulls the curtain open that separates them from the rest of the room. Tori glances at Harry, and she immediately rises to her feet when she sees that Harry is awake, and feeling around for his glasses. She quickly seizes them from the bedside table, and pushes them into his hand. Harry quickly puts his glasses on and sends Tori a thankful glance before sitting up. He smiles slightly when he sees Sirius' canine head poke over the side of the bed, and he gives him a quick pat on the head.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge asks rudely to Mrs. Weasley, making many of the occupants in the room glare at the man.

"Not here… Obviously," Tori says curtly. Her mouth seems to have a mind of its own when she says this and her gaze shifts to the window as everybody's attention turns to her. She's flooded with relief when Ron snorts loudly at her comment, making everybody look at him, excluding Tori, so she misses the way that he blushes visibly. Tori keeps her attention out the window as everybody converses around her. She turns her attention back to the scene in the hospital when she hears Professor McGonagall shout at Dumbledore, outraged about Fudge. Tori's eyebrows rise in fascination at the sight of an infuriated Minerva McGonagall.

The only thing that probably fascinated Tori more than a furious McGonagall, was a furious Dumbledore. She leans against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest as she watches Dumbledore and Fudge argue with each other over the return of Voldemort, Dumbledore obviously agreeing with Harry, and Fudge calling the entire story madness. Eventually, after the entire argument is over, Fudge gives Harry his winnings from the tournament, and abruptly leaves the hospital wing.

Tori disregards the conversation going around the room between the remaining adults until she feels herself being pulled into a hug. She blinks rapidly, bringing herself out of her trance-like state to realize that she's being embraced by Bill. She doesn't return the embrace, but she does give him a small smile when he pulls away. She watches as he claps Gabe on the shoulder before leaving. She frowns slightly, confused as to where he's going, but she doesn't question it. Soon after Bill leaves, Dumbledore dismisses McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey, who both leave without question as Dumbledore gives them jobs to do.

"And now," Dumbledore starts after Madame Pomfrey's footsteps fade, "is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius ... if you could resume your usual form."

Tori and Gabe both look sharply at their father who is still in his dog form. They watch as Sirius looks at Dumbledore before shifting back to his human self. The twins, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all take in Sirius' gaunt and pale form, but they all look away when Molly lets out a shriek of 'Sirius Black!'

"Mum, shut up! It's okay!" Ron shouts to Molly, who after seeing Sirius grabbed Ginny and pushed her behind her. Tori shifts her gaze to Snape, and momentarily, everything horrible about the night vanishes, and Tori suddenly feels something akin to glee at the look of horror and fury on his face. She can't help the smirk that makes its way onto her face.

"Him!" Snape nearly growls. "What is he doing here?"

"He is here at my invitation, as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other," Dumbledore says, and Tori snorts softly and exchanges a disbelieving glance with Harry. "I will settle, in the short term for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any us," Dumbledore says, and everybody watches as Sirius and Snape slowly approach each other and shake hands, letting go of each other's hands quickly, looking at the other with disgusted expressions on their faces, much to Tori's amusement. "That will do to be going on with. Now, I have work for each of you," Dumbledore says, looking between Sirius, Snape, and Remus who is standing next to Gabe. "Sirius, Remus, I need both of you to set off at once. You are to alert Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd," he says, and Sirius and Remus nod. "Remus, I'm to assume that you'll have no qualms about providing Sirius with a place to stay?" Dumbledore asks, a smile twitching at his lips when he sees the identical pleading expressions on Tori and Gabe's faces.

"Of course not, so you can put those faces away, you two," Remus says without looking at the twins, who look at each other with raised eyebrows. Remus turns to Gabe and pulls him into an embrace before doing the same to Tori. "I'll be at King's Cross to pick you up like always," he says, and the twins nod when Remus pulls away from Tori. "You two take care of each other," Remus says, and the twins nod again. Tori smiles slightly when Sirius walks forward and takes hers and Gabe's hands gently.

"I'll see you soon," he says before turning around, "all of you," he adds, giving Harry a pointed look, which makes him grin a bit and nod. Sirius claps Harry on the shoulder before doing the same to Gabe, and kisses Tori softly on the head before morphing back into the familiar black dog, and walking towards the door by Remus' side. After they're gone, the brief happiness drains from Tori and she sits back down in her previously vacated chair by Harry's bed.

"Severus," Dumbledore calls, making the attention of everybody in the room move to him, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready . . . if you are prepared …," he trails off cryptically, making everybody frown with confusion.

"I am," Snape says at once.

"Then good luck," Dumbledore says, and Snape nods once to him before exiting the room. Dumbledore stares at Harry briefly for a few seconds. "I must go downstairs," Dumbledore speaks after a prolonged silence. "Must see the Diggorys. Harry - take the rest of your potion. I will see all of you later," he says, and with that, he exits the room as well.

"You've got to take the rest of your potion, Harry," Molly says after a few long moments of silence, causing Tori to finally look up at him from where she was staring blankly at the floor. "You have a good long sleep. Try and think about something else for a while …think about what you're going to buy with your winnings!" she says, trying to cheer him up.

"I don't want that gold," Harry says, tonelessly, causing everybody to frown at him. "You have it. Anyone can have it. I shouldn't have won it. It should've been Cedric's," he says in the same toneless voice which causes Tori to clench her fists subtly.

"It wasn't your fault. Harry," Molly whispers, looking down at Harry motherly.

"I told him to take the cup with me," Harry says, his voice cracking slightly, and Tori feels the lump in her throat growing larger. She looks back at the floor sharply when Molly embraces Harry. She hears Harry's breathing become slightly labored as he attempts not to cry and Tori shuts her eyes for a few moments when she feels tears spring to her eyes. Eventually, the overwhelming urge to cry becomes to strong, and Tori quickly rises from her chair and brushes past Gabe and Ginny, who are comforting each other, and quickly makes her way to the door of the hospital and pushes the door open with excessive force, very aware of the fact that every single eye is on her back as she leaves. She hears the door slam shut behind her as she makes her way down the empty corridor, fighting tears the entire way.

She takes many deep breaths as she speed walks down the corridor, her hands shoved hastily into the pockets of her jacket, which she had yet to remove.

"Tori!" she hears her name being shouted from behind her. She turns her head slightly and sighs when she sees her brother jogging to catch her. She ignores the mumbled protests from the surrounding paintings, and quickens her pace a bit. "Tori slow down!"

"Leave me alone," she says back, but as always, Gabe ignores her wishes and grips the crook of her elbow, effectively stopping her. She quickly wrenches her arm out of his grip, and glares mutinously at her twin. "Go. Away," she snarls at him before turning back on her heel, and attempting to leave.

"Oh, knock it off," Gabe hisses at Tori, angrily, snatching her arm again before she can walk away again. "Why don't you do us all a favor and swallow that stupid, stubborn, Gryffindor pride, and let somebody be there for you?" Gabe asks, and Tori shakes her head quickly while clenching her jaw tightly, and attempting to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Just go," she whispers and tries to pry her arm out of Gabe's grip, but he only tightens his fingers around her bicep.

"You're always doing this, Victoria. There's nothing wrong with letting someone help you through this," Gabe says, his voice slowly becoming gentler. Tori looks up at her taller twin briefly, her brown eyes meeting his gray orbs, and she looks away quickly.

"Please, Gabe… Please," she pleads weakly, clearing her throat stubbornly when her voice cracks. "Please, just leave me alone. I want to be alone."

"Victoria-," Gabe starts.

"Gabe," she whispers, meeting his eyes. "Please," she whispers again, and Gabe frowns. The look in her eyes is so pitiful, so… sad, that he can't deny her request, and despite his better judgment, he nods. He reluctantly releases the tight grip on her arm, and watches helplessly as his twin turns quickly and makes her way down the darkening corridor.

"Give her time," a voice says from next to him, and Gabe's head snaps quickly to his left. He sees a medium sized portrait of an elderly man in the setting of a deep maroon colored study with many different book shelves, cluttered with books all around him. The balding elderly man looks at Gabe sadly, and Gabe frowns. "She's a Gryffindor, yes?"

"Yeah," Gabe says, glancing down the corridor before looking back at the portrait.

"Despite what they'd like to think, Gryffindors have always been very prideful, just like you said. It may not be listed in their main characteristics, but it's blatantly obvious," the man says, chuckling slightly. "I've seen many like her. When a tragedy such as this occurs, those with a mindset like hers tend to… Shall we say, close themselves off to the rest of the world. They put up a pretense that they're fine, that they're happy-," the man says.

"But they're not," Gabe says, nodding, and the man nods in return.

"Be persistent. She'll eventually come around if you don't give up, but the only thing that you can do for her right now, is give her time, and the space that she wants," the man says, and Gabe runs a hand through his black hair. "Don't worry, when the time is right, you'll know when to begin to pry."

In a different part of the school, Tori finds herself in the same abandoned classroom that she, Ron, Hermione, and Harry all used for Harry to practice spells before the third task. She paces the length of the classroom quickly while randomly running her hands through her hair, or raking her hands down her face.

She and Cedric broke up months ago. It was mutual. No negative feelings, no bad blood between the two. No regrets, nothing left unsaid.

So why was she feeling the overwhelmingly strong urge to break down, right in the middle of that abandoned classroom?

'Because you cared about him,' a small voice says in her mind, and she lets out a harsh, ragged breath. 'You cared about Cedric. He was your friend. Now, he's gone, and he's never coming back.'

"Stop it," she commands herself harshly, out loud. She shakes her head and quickly unbuttons her jacket before practically tearing it off of herself, leaving her in her flannel shirt and jeans. She roughly tosses her jacket away from her, listening as it hits the wall beside her and drops to the ground. She takes a couple of deep breaths through her nose and sits down on one of the tables left in the classroom. She pulls an old chair towards her with her foot, and rests her feet on it. She rests her elbows on her knees, and places her head in her hands.

'He's dead. Gone,' her mind tells her, and her fingers slowly curl into fists as she pictures Cedric's smiling face in her mind. Unfortunately, when she pictures this, her mind can't help but remember the look of his face in death, which for him, looked anything but peaceful. She sees his wide, blank eyes staring up at the sky, his slightly parted lips. She even remembers every small cut on his face, which obviously didn't get the time to heal before he was killed.

Tori growls slightly before kicking the chair harshly away from her, and she watches as it topples over with a loud clang. She sniffs lightly as tears fill her eyes and she blinks them away rapidly. She slowly, reluctantly rises from where she's seated on the table and she picks up her jacket before exiting the abandoned classroom. She sighs and shrugs on her jacket as she walks through the corridors, making her way back to Gryffindor tower, and once she arrives, she softly says the password to the Fat Lady who gives her a worried look before the portrait slowly swings open. Tori walks through the portrait hole, hearing the portrait shut behind her, and upon entering the common room, she sees Hermione and Ron still awake, Ron sitting in one of the chairs, resting his chin on his hand that are propped up on his knees, and Hermione biting her nails while pacing in front of the fire place.

"Hi," she says softly, catching their attention, and Ron rises to his feet as Hermione stops pacing.

"There you are. We were worried," Hermione says with a frown, throwing a glance to Ron.

"I just… Wanted to be alone for a little while," Tori says, looking down and picking at her fingernails. She looks up at Hermione and Ron, and she sees that Hermione wants to say something, but is hesitant to do so. Tori merely raises her eyebrows at her and Hermione takes a deep breath.

"Are… Are you alright?" Hermione asks, and Tori's eyebrows crease slightly and she looks past Hermione at the fire behind her.

"I'm going to go to bed, okay?" she asks, and without waiting for an answer she quickly makes her way to the steps that lead to the girls' dormitories. She quickly ascends the stairs and enters the 4th year girls' dorm where she sees Lavender and Parvarti still awake, and sitting on Lavender's bed talking. When they notice Tori, they immediately silence and stare at her for a few moments before looking away. She takes off her jacket and digs in her trunk for some pajamas before heading to the lavatory to change. Once she's changed into her pajamas, she climbs into bed where Blossom lies, surprisingly without Crookshanks, and pulls the curtains closed.

**-IAWTS-**

**A/N: **I know it's short, but I didn't want put the end of the movie/book in this chapter, lest the chapter run on too long. The next chapter will be up soon. I'm much more motivated to write for this story considering it's so close to the end, then comes the Order of the Phoenix, my favorite! **Anyway, I know that I didn't go terribly into detail about Tori's reaction, but this isn't the end of it. Her reaction actually carries on into the next story. **

**No new outfits on Polyvore for this chapter.**

**Questions?  
>Comments?<strong>

**Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters, for they belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my original characters; Victoria and Gabriel, plus any small plot tweaks that I think will make my story that much better.

**Reviewers and Replies: **

**grapejuice101****: **Oh, I know! I do, too. But she'll be okay eventually, don't worry. :) Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**WriteToEscapeReality1309****: **I'm really glad you think that! That really means a lot to me. Order of the Phoenix was definitely my favorite book. My favorite films would have to be both of the Deathly Hallows. They're both tied for first place, for sure! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**RHatch89****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**Lucy Greenhill****:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**potterhead8989:** Thank you for the review! I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**-IAWTS-**

_Don't talk, don't say a thing  
>Cause your eyes they tell me more than your words<br>Don't go, don't leave me now  
>Cause they say the best way out is through<em>

_And I am short on words knowing what's occurred_  
><em>She begins to leave because of me<em>

_Her bag is now much heavier_  
><em>I wish that I could carry her<em>  
><em>But this is our ungodly hour<em>

_**Ungodly Hour- The Fray**_

**-IAWTS**

The next morning, Tori rises from a very fitful sleep, plagued with nightmares full of images of Cedric's dead body. She sits up in bed and rubs the sleep from her eyes with her fingertips and pulls the curtains back before swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She stands and stretches with a small groan and yawns largely shortly after. She looks around the room and sees that each of the girls are still sleeping. Looking out the window, she sees that the sun is only starting to rise, and her eyebrows rise slightly. She walks to her trunk and pulls out an outfit before dressing quickly, and pulling a brush through her slightly tangled brown locks. She pulls on a pair of boots before quietly leaving the room, and heading down the stairs to the common room.

Tori, upon entering the common room, finds that it's completely empty, and she sighs in relief. She stands rooted in place for a few moments, fiddling with her wand before shoving it in her jacket pocket and exiting the common room.

"And where do you think you're going so early?" the Fat Lady asks grumpily, obviously upset about being woken up.

"To visit someone," Tori mumbles as she walks down the many flights of stairs before passing the entrance of the school, and eventually finding the hospital wing. She quietly pushes open the door and silently walks inside. She sighs before walking forward and making her way past the many empty beds until she reaches the very last bed containing a still sleeping Harry. She looks around a bit for a chair and frowns when she finds that all the chairs out last night were put away. She walks to Madame Pomfrey's office and presses her ear against the door, and opens it when she hears nothing. She peeks inside and grins slightly when she sees a couple of chairs inside. She picks one up and takes it out to the infirmary and sets it down next to Harry's bed and sits down.

When she sits, she stares at Harry's sleeping form for a few moments, mentally willing him to wake up, but when he doesn't she looks away and sighs. She looks down and picks at her nails for a few moments before throwing her head back and sighing again with boredom. She glances at Harry again before puffing up her cheeks and letting out a breath.

"There's a hole in the bottom of the sea, there's a hole in the bottom of the sea, there's a hole, there's a hole, there's a hole in the bottom of the sea," she sings to herself while drumming a quiet beat on her knees with her fingers. She continues this song softly while drumming on her legs and leaning her head back on the chair. "There's a toe on the foot on the leg on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea there's a toe on the foot on the leg on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea there's a hole, there's a hole there's a hole in the bottom of the sea," she finishes the song, letting out a huge breath at the end.

"Finally," she hears Harry say from the bed in a relieved voice, and she looks sharply at him, finding him grinning at her. She mock scowls at him.

"How long have you been awake?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Around the time where you got to the leg on the frog," Harry answers, and Tori blinks at him.

"And you didn't think to stop me?" she asks, lifting an eyebrow.

"By the time I decided to, the song was finished," he says, reaching for his glasses. Tori leans forward and hands them to him. "Thanks," he says, putting them on and sitting up in bed. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to find a chair and sing that song," she answers with a shrug.

"It's early," Harry points out, looking at the nearby window.

"And here we are," Tori says, leaning back in the chair. The two sit in silence, Tori staring out the window, and Harry staring at Tori.

"You can ask, you know?" Harry says, and Tori looks at Harry with a confused frown. "About what happened."

"Why would I ask about it?" Tori asks, feeling almost offended that Harry thinks that she would even think about asking about last night.

"Well, that's why you're here isn't it?" Harry asks, almost angrily.

"I'm here to check up on you," Tori says back with a small glare before looking down at her lap. "I feel as if I'm better off not knowing," she says softly, playing with her fingers.

Harry's face softens considerably as he watches his normally emotionally strong best friend looking so small and timid.

"Well… I'm fine," Harry says, and Tori looks at him doubtfully. "Physically, at least. At least I think so. Madame Pomfrey might have other opinions."

"She does always seem to find something wrong with people, doesn't she?" Tori asks, a small smile playing at her lips.

"What are you doing in here this early, Miss Black," Madame Pomfrey's voice rings out from behind her, making her jump, and spring out of her chair quickly. She spins to face the hospital matron with a sheepish grin on her face.

"Er… Visiting," she says, and Madame Pomfrey lifts an eyebrow at her. "Please don't kick me out," she adds quickly, and Harry snorts a laugh behind her.

"Have a seat," she sighs, gesturing to the chair, and Tori sits down, sending Harry a triumphant grin. Tori watches as Madame Pomfrey checks over Harry for a couple of minutes, before finally releasing him from the hospital with a barely noticeable sympathetic look on her face.

"They should really put more things to do in that place," Tori muses as she and Harry exit the hospital wing. "I was tempted to start sorting through Madame Pomfrey's things while you were sleeping."

"Instead you sang that children's song," Harry points out, and Tori rolls her eyes.

"I'm surprised I still remember the whole thing. Sort of a feat for me, I think," she says. "I wonder how long until breakfast," she idly says quietly when her stomach pangs with hunger. She groans as her stomach growls. "Far too long. This is why I don't usually wake up early."

"Oh, that's why?" Harry asks, sarcastically, and Tori fights a grin.

"What other reason could I have?" she asks.

"You're lazy," Harry says, immediately, and Tori looks at him, a look of outrage on her face.

"How can you say that?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You're joking right? That's your own excuse for everything," Harry points out, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Not everything," Tori says, affronted.

"Homework, most physical activities," Harry says as they begin to climb the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. "Gabe told me once that the only way he and Professor Lupin-," he starts.

"He's not going to want you to call him that anymore. Just call him Remus. You could even go as far as to call him Uncle Remus like Gabe and I," Tori points out.

"-can get you out of bed before noon during the summer is by tempting you with food, or threatening to dump water on you," Harry finishes.

"That's not true!" she denies quickly, and Harry gives her a disbelieving look as they reach the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Most of the time," she says, and Harry says the password after giving her a look that clearly says 'I thought so.'

When the two of them walk into the common room they're vastly unsurprised to see Hermione awake and pacing nervously next to the couch. She looks up sharply when they enter the room and her eyes soften when she sees both Tori and Harry.

"I thought that's where you'd be," Hermione says, not needing to question where Tori had been.

"I'm going to go change. I'll be back down in a bit," Harry says, and Tori nods before he walks off, going up the stairs to his dorm. Tori glances at Hermione and sighs at the questioning look on her face.

"How are you doing?" Hermione asks gently, and her tone immediately makes Tori's emotional walls come up strongly.

"Fine," she answers blandly.

"Tori… You and I both know that's not true," Hermione says, keeping her tone the same.

"Then why did you ask?" Tori asks, defensively. Hermione blinks a few times at Tori's tone.

"I'm only worried about you," Hermione says, and Tori shakes her head.

"Don't worry about me. Worry about Harry, he was there. I wasn't. There's absolutely no need at all to worry about me. I'm fine," Tori says sharply.

"Tori-," Hermione starts, a little firmly.

"Hermione I said I'm fine," Tori snaps, and she immediately regrets her tone when Hermione winces subtly. "Really, I'm fine. Thinking about it is only going to upset me, and you know me, Hermione. I'm no good to anyone when I'm upset."

"Tori, this isn't good for you. You need to grieve properly. You'll never get past it if you don't let yourself feel the pain of it," Hermione explains softly, and Tori shakes her head, plastering a false smile on her face.

"I don't need to Hermione. I'm fine, alright. Perfectly fine," Tori says before walking to the couch and flopping down on it, lifting her boot covered feet to rest on the back of the couch, while the rest of her body relaxes against the arm. "I am very hungry though, how long until breakfast?" she asks, ignoring the sad look that Hermione is giving her.

"Not long, I suspect," Hermione says with a sigh, before sitting down on one of the chairs. The two friends sit in companionable silence as other students fill the common room, most of their faces gloomy and sad due to the acts that conspired the previous night. Tori finds that even Fred and George are lacking in their usual cheeriness that morning, which makes her false spirits dampen slightly.

After a long and nearly silent breakfast, Dumbledore asks all the students to remain in the Great Hall while the usual tables and chairs are replaced with just regular fold-out chairs, enough for literally everybody in the hall to sit. Tori, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all glance at each other before taking a seat, Tori sitting between Hermione and Harry. Once everybody is seated, they all watch as Dumbledore remains seated in his chair at the staff table.

"Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss. Cedric Diggory was as you all know, exceptionally hard working, intricately fair minded. And most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend," Dumbledore begins and Tori stiffens in her seat before quickly looking down at her lap. "I think therefore you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. The ministry of magic does not wish me to tell you this. But not to do so I think would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, reminds us that while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one," Dumbledore continues his speech, and Tori clenches her fists on her lap as her left knee begins to bounce anxiously. "In light of recent events the bonds of friendship we made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain, you remember that," the speech continues, and Tori glances over sharply when Harry reaches over and places his hand on her knee to stop it from bouncing. When it does so, he reaches farther and takes one of her hands, unclenches it, and laces his fingers with hers, and she squeezes it tightly. "And we'll celebrate boy who was kind and honest and brave and true right to the very end."

**-IAWTS-**

Hours later, Tori finds herself aimlessly wandering through the grounds, near the forest with her hands shoved in her jacket pockets. She begins reflecting on Dumbledore's speech from earlier, and also, Hermione's earlier words. She knows that she should grieve Cedric's death. That it would only be right, and she knows that the healing process would be triggered once she let out all of her grief and pain, but she just can't find it in her to do so.

'He would want you to be happy. Not to mourn his death, but celebrate his life,' Tori thinks, running a hand down her face.

Tori remembers that the last time she cried was over a year ago when she thought that hers and Harry's friendship was over for good, and even then she hadn't meant to cry so openly like she did. Crying in front of others isn't acceptable in Tori's eyes, and it hasn't been since she finished grieving her mother. The only person she had ever felt comfortable crying in front of since then was her Uncle Remus, only because he could make her feel better almost immediately.

As she walks through the grounds, she spots a small clearing past the shallow part of the forest, and she decides that there's no harm in investigating, so she begins her trek to the clearing. She freezes immediately when she hears a noise to the left of her and she quickly draws her wand out of her jacket pocket. She relaxes significantly when she sees the large black form of a Thestral moving toward her. She smiles slightly and extends her hand to stroke its large leathery head.

"Tori?" she hears from her right, and her head snaps toward the voice, and her hand lowers immediately.

"Oh, hi, Harry," Tori says, letting out a deep breath and looking back and the dark winged creature. She looks back at Harry and sees him staring wide eyed at the Thestral. "Right, you'd be able to see them now," she mutters to herself.

"What is it?" he asks, taking a few tentative steps forward.

"A Thestral," Tori answers with a small smile. "Don't be so nervous, he won't hurt you. The ones around here are trained to distinguish between those who are friends and who aren't," she says, and Harry looks at her with a small frown before taking the final steps forward and hesitantly touching the creature's neck. "They're used to people by now."

"You said I'd be able to see them now," Harry says, and opens his mouth to say more, but Tori cuts him off.

"Thestrals can only be seen by people who've seen death," Tori says quietly, looking at Harry and trying to gauge his reaction to her words and she's surprised when she barely sees one. She deducts that he's putting up a front, just as she is. "Which is why people are so afraid of them. That and… Well, their appearance. I think they're beautiful though."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that," Harry says, stepping away from the creature and smiling slightly at her.

"That easy to read, eh?" Tori asks with a grin, and Harry laughs lightly.

"I only say that because you find Hermione's cat cute," Harry says, and Tori laughs before dropping her hand from the Thestral's head.

"Crookshanks is an adorable cat," Tori says defiantly, and Harry holds his hands up in a 'surrendering' motion, before watching the Thestral as it walks away. "Let's get out of this forest before a new kind of large creature finds its way to us," Tori mutters, and Harry nods in agreement, following Tori's lead and following her out of the forest.

**-IAWTS-**

The next day, the entire school is filled with the students of Hogwarts saying goodbye, and wishing farewell to the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, seeing as their time at Hogwarts has come to an end. Tori, wishes a polite farewell to those who acknowledge her first, but other than that she remains tightlipped throughout the entire ordeal. As she walks out into the courtyard she quickly finds Ron and lets out a sigh of relief.

"Finally, I found one of you," she says, falling into step next to him. She sees a faint blush on his cheeks and she smirks devilishly at him. "Oh, and who did you just wish a fond goodbye to?" she asks.

"Shut up," he grumbles, ducking his head slightly.

"Would it happen to be the lovely Fleur Delacour?" Tori asks, and she sees Ron's blush deepen, making her laugh joyously for the first time in a couple of days. "Oh, how sweet!" she crows with a beaming smile on her face.

"Oh, would you shut it?!" he practically explodes, his face a burning red color, which only makes Tori roar with laughter. She laughs hard until her sides start hurting, but manages to continue to walk with Ron, and they eventually approach Harry and Hermione who are talking with each other. The pair look at Tori curiously as she continues to laugh, clutching her sides, and eventually she leans against Hermione to keep herself upright.

"Oh, Merlin," she gasps when she finally settles from her laughing fit. "Oh, I needed that," she says before taking a large deep breath.

"What was so funny?" Hermione asks, curiously, and Tori's eyes snap to Ron, who gives her a death glare that makes her snort with laughter.

"Him," she says simply, in a tone that states that they won't get anymore information.

"So, do you think we'll ever just have a quiet year at Hogwarts?" Ron asks, turning the conversation in a different direction.

"No," Hermione says immediately.

"No, I don't think so," Harry adds as they begin walking.

"Where would be the fun in a quiet year?" Tori asks, and Ron nods slightly. They all continue walking until Hermione stops suddenly, causing the other three to look at her curiously.

"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" she asks, and Ron and Tori glance at each other when Harry steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes," he says simply, and Hermione huffs out a laugh.

"Promise you'll write this summer. All of you," Hermione says as they begin to walk again.

"Well, I won't. You know I won't," Ron says, and Tori rolls her eyes at him.

"Harry will, won't you?" Hermione asks, looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah, every week," Harry says, and Tori sends him a look of mock outrage.

"How come you don't write me every week?" she asks loudly, and he rolls his eyes at her.

"Because you take almost two weeks to respond!" he argues, and she opens her mouth for a retort as they reach a balcony overlooking the grounds. Her mouth snaps shut when she realizes that he's right.

"He's right," Hermione says, and Tori scoffs. "You're going to visit this summer, right?" she asks, and Tori nods.

"Always do," she answers before her eyes light up. "Your parents are fascinating!" she says, and Hermione rolls her eyes. "They fix people's teeth!" she says, looking at Ron and Harry.

"She spends more time with my parents than she does with me during her visits," Hermione grumbles, and Tori nods excitedly.

"They took me to their office once, and I got to see her dad work on a man's teeth once," she says, smiling. "Do you think they'll let me go again?" she asks Hermione, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Probably," Hermione says with a small shrug. "Did you finish packing?" she asks, looking at Tori pointedly. Both of the boys respond positively while Tori avoids her gaze. "Victoria! We're leaving in a couple of hours! Go finish packing before it's too late!" Hermione says sternly, and Tori opens her mouth to protest. "Now," Hermione says, leaving no room for arguments. Tori looks to Ron and Harry for help, but both boys avoid her gaze to spare themselves the wrath of Hermione, who they find can be just as scary as Tori on a bad day.

"But Hermione-," Tori starts, but is cut off by Hermione grabbing her wrist and dragging her in the direction of the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, and the two boys laugh at the sound of Tori's loud, mournful protests ringing out the entire way.

**-IAWTS-**

**A/N: **You know, I didn't even know it until now, but this is the last chapter of this story! I thought that I could make this long enough to fit another chapter in, but I… I just couldn't! Oh well, good news for me so I can finally start the next story! Thank you all for the reviews, follows, and favorites for this story! I really apologize for the long hiatus in between some of the chapters, but you can see that it all worked out in the end considering this story if finally finished!

**The next story will be started very soon! Expect the first chapter either later today, or sometime within the next week. I promise, it will be absolutely no later than that!**

**New outfit on Polyvore. The last outfit for this story! Go check it out!**

**Questions?  
>Comments?<br>Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review. **

**And do please review! I'd love a review for the end of this story!**


End file.
